Meet Me Halfway
by inkjacque
Summary: Two girls leave their home town to find some peace in a new school far away from home. However, they're finding it hard to give themselves a break when they're too busy trying to chase down their hearts. Ichihime, Hitsukarin.
1. Chapter 1

"Ka-chan…"

Karin turned around to face her twin sister, Yuzu, at the doorway with a tray in her hands. On the tray were a tea set and a sandwich. Karin smiled warmly as her twin sister settled the tray down on their brother's table. It saddened her sometimes. His room was empty for a long time. Ever since he had gotten that scholarship, he had shifted out to stay in the school's apartments since home was too far away for him to travel back and forth. Furthermore, he had been busy with rugby practice so his visits were lessening with every victory he made.

_Thank god for the Internet. _Karin thought. She hopped off the windowsill onto the bed and crawled over to her the desk. For the last six months, Karin inhabited the empty room and gave up her side of their room to Yuzu. Now the girls had more space for their own stuff, even though Karin kept her brother's room the way it was. She never needed many things anyway, she liked it the way it was, simple.

"How's your cheek?" Yuzu reached for Karin's cheek and caressed it motherly. It had been a week since the attack outside their neighborhood. Drunken schoolboys from a neighboring school attacked Karin on her way home from football practice. Being the fighter she was, Karin put up a good fight but being five to one, Karin eventually lost consciousness with a fist slap to the cheek and a blow to her stomach. Thankfully, their father had a good fatherly intuition that something horrid had happened and went out to look for her.

In the end, he found Karin against a lamppost unconscious with drunken boys taking pictures of her. No they did not touch her just yet, they were just taking pictures to remember their victory. Enraged, their father took the phones and cameras and crushed them to the ground with his foot. Cowardly, the boys ran off leaving Karin's father to carry her home and tend to her injuries.

Her cheek had a bruise and her stomach had a large blue-black discolouration from the blow. Instead of sinking down to trauma, Karin found the strength to report her attackers. However, things could not go back to the way it was. Reporters hounded Karin as being a brave soul and the only one who had not fall victim to the boys rape. Apparently, the boys were also being charged for three previous rapes that were only reported right after Karin's bravery of charging them. Furthermore, people made prejudgments of the victims, which was not a normality that Karin accepted.

Karin indulged in her sister's tender touch. She had always been the mother in the family, ever since their mother had left them at a very young age of four. Their father had to be credited as well for keeping the family as tight as they were before their mother left.

"It's fine." Karin picked up the sandwich and softly bit into it. It was a creamy non-nutty peanut butter.

"I opted for a softer peanut butter for you. You know, not to put a strain on the cheek." Yuzu poured some tea into the teacup.

Karin nodded her head and continued to feast on it. Yuzu reached into her apron and pulled out a small white tube. She uncapped it and squeezed out a small amount of white cream. Karin lowered her sandwich and allowed Yuzu to apply the cream to her cheek. Having a clinic in their house, their father being a town's doctor and Yuzu training under him, had it's perk. They need not waste time to drive out and wait in line for medical attention.

"Are they still out there?" Karin asked.

"Nope. But I had to unplug the phone." Yuzu giggled.

"What if the school calls?" Karin asked. Their father had decided that Karin should continue her studies in another school far from town until the media died down. It so happened that Ichigo had an opening in his school and applied for Karin. It was only going to be temporarily for the time being.

"No need." Yuzu grinned. She pulled out a sealed envelope from her apron pocket and handed it to Karin.

Karin felt her heart lunge forward as she took the envelope from Yuzu. Even though it was just to put her at ease while studying, the thought of whether you have been accepted or declined still put Karin in an uneasy mode.

"Go on, open it." Yuzu said excitedly. She took a seat next to Karin and hugged Karin.

Karin tore flap open and pulled out the letter.

"Dear Kurosaki Karin,

You have been accepted into-"

Yuzu squealed before Karin could finish the sentence. It brought her great delight to know that her sister could have a little break and peace from the commotion in town.

"Where's goat-chin?" Karin smiled. She returned her sister's hug and a tear slipped down her bruised her cheek.

"He's attending to patients at the moment." Yuzu smiled.

* * *

"Alright boys, tomorrow's practice will be canceled because it is Good Friday. Have a good rest but don't slack off!"

Ichigo grabbed his towel as their coach headed off.

"See you Captain!"

Ichigo waved to the rest of his teammates as he stayed behind with his fellow buddies. In their track pants and field shirts, the group remained on the field to catch their breath.

"God, training was intense." Renji lay down on the grass and took off his headband.

"Yeah, thank god for Good Friday." Hisagi too lay down.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." Ikkaku exclaimed.

"I could go for a burger." Ichigo piped as he took a seat on the grass and hung his towel around his neck.

"Where's Toushirou?" Renji asked.

"There he is." Hisagi motioned to behind Ichigo. All turned to see their newest addition to the team at the stand reaching into his backpack and taking out a bottle of water. They watched him uncapped the bottle and pour water all over his head. His hair that was partially defying gravity had completely submitted to the weight of the liquid.

Hitsugaya shook his head as he indulged in the chilly sensation of the ice-cold water. He had no time to shower before work so dowsing himself in cold water was enough for him. All he had to do now was head into the changing room and change out of his training clothes. He grabbed his backpack and slung over his wet shoulder. Noticing the group looking at him out of the corner of his eye, he ignored them and headed into the school.

"It has been two weeks since he had joined us and yet he has not even had a normal conversation with us. He just disappears off right after practice. He doesn't even talk to us in the apartment. Just stays cooped up in his room." Ikkaku could feel a tick of annoyance in the back of his head.

"Give him some time." Ichigo sighed. "It took me awhile to get to know you guys when I first came here."

"Yeah but you weren't a prick." Hisagi said.

"Maybe he's just a little more harder to warm up than me. He'll come around sooner or later." Ichigo shrugged.

"Anyway, let's go and shower and grab some dinner." Renji got up. Just as the group started to head off, someone called out for Ichigo. All turned around to see a petite girl walking toward them with an envelope in her hand. She was dressed in a purple long sleeve button less top, a knee length brown skirt and a brown flat boots hugger.

"Yo Rukia," Ichigo greeted as he took the envelope from her.

"Kuchiki-san."

"Rukia."

"Wassup?"

"Hey guys, sorry but this is just for Ichigo. The admin office asked me to pass it to you if I see you." Rukia turned to Ichigo.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked as he unsealed the envelope.

"How would I know baka? I can't magically see through it." Rukia sarcastically replied him.

Ichigo unfolded the letter and read the content carefully. A smiled appeared on his lips.

"Something good?" Renji asked.

"You bet. My sister Karin has been accepted into our school." Ichigo turned to his buddies.

"Karin-chan?" Renji said.

"Yeah."

"Sweet, how is she doing?" Renji asked.

"She's doing better…I hope." Ichigo's smiled dropped too soon. Rukia placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder and shook him a little.

"She'll be fine. I've got two people moving into my apartment day after tomorrow so for all you know it could be her." Rukia gave a kind smile.

"I'll take care of her even if she's not bunking with me." Rukia patted Ichigo's back before turning away and heading back to the school.

_I know I can always count you, Rukia. _Ichigo smiled.

"Oi, stop looking so strangely at Rukia." Renji lightly jabbed Ichigo in the ribs.

"I was not okay? I'm not going to have a go with her. Jeez, we're not like that." Ichigo replied in an annoyed tone.

"Just checking." Renji grinned.

* * *

"So what's the deal? You look so damn upset when Renji asked how Karin was doing?" Ikkaku picked up his burger from his plate.

Ichigo leaned back with his hands tucked under the table. He had lost his appetite many times when he thought back on Karin's plight. It made it really hard for him to sleep well at night and concentrate on his work. It took him a great deal of effort to keep his head cool and not march down back home to beat the ones responsible for her pain.

Just as Ikkaku was about to ask again, a bell rang and Ichigo got up to retrieve his burger.

"Wha-"

"Don't ask him again, Ikkaku." Renji took a sip of his drink.

"You know what happened?" Hisagi asked.

"Yeah, I was with Ichigo when his dad called." Renji sighed. "After the game, his dad informed him that Karin had been attacked on her way home from school practice. She was still unconscious when they were on the phone. Only an hour later did she regain consciousness."

"What asshole did that?" Hisagi exclaimed.

"Five assholes, drunk schoolboys." Renji sighed.

"She didn't get…you know…raped?" Ikkaku asked.

"No she didn't. She was luckier than the previous victims. Her dad found her before they could have done it." Renji turned toward the counter to see Ichigo grabbing some serviettes.

"Ever since that attack, reporters have been hounding her for an interview and with the injuries she has, she was and still is in no state to have a normal life returned to her just yet. Her dad decided that coming out here might give her a break, until things settle down back at home." Renji finished.

"Damn…" Hisagi scowled. "No wonder Ichigo was in such a pissed off mood that day. I would be if that happened to someone I knew."

"I hope those fuckers get jailed for life." Ikkaku bit into his burger.

* * *

Ichigo dumped his training bag at one corner of the living room and dropped onto the couch. It was coming to ten at night when he got back. The rest were still out catching a movie. He reached for his laptop he had left on the coffee table earlier in the morning and placed it on his lap. As he switched on his laptop, the bathroom door opened. Out came Hitsugaya in a pair of sweatpants, grey shirt and a towel around his neck.

"Yo Toushirou," Ichigo greeted.

"Kurosaki." Hitsugaya stopped and looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Catching a movie." Ichigo answered.

"What about you?" Hitsugaya wondered.

"Not interested in the movie their watching. Decided to come home and chill before tomorrow." Ichigo stretched his arms.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Hitsugaya asked. He headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge door. He pulled out a carton of milk and opened the cabinet.

"Nothing much. Just need to settle some administrative and lodging stuff for my sister." Ichigo reached for the remote and turned the television on.

"You're sister? Didn't know you had siblings." Hitsugaya spoke. He pulled a glass and poured the milk in.

"I have twin sisters." Ichigo smiled.

"That's…nice."

"But one is only coming over. Not both."

Hitsugaya leaned against the counter. For the last two weeks, he had come to know the four jocks. Renji was Ichigo's best friend; Ikkaku and Hisagi were Ichigo's close buds while Rukia, who he had seen a few times, was Ichigo's oldest friend. However he knew little as he had little like for small talk or interaction. He had better things to do.

"You doing anything tomorrow?" Ichigo asked.

"Maybe. Why?" Hitsugaya placed the empty glass into the sink. He turned the tap on and grabbed a sponge.

"The guys were thinking of having lunch together. Want to join us?" Ichigo enquired.

Hitsugaya placed the wet glass on the rack to allow the water to drip off.

"I'll let you know. I got quite a bit of work to catch up on. Thanks anyway." Hitsugaya answered stoically and headed back to his room. Ichigo shrugged. _At least I had a normal conversation with him. _

He returned his attention to his laptop screen and clicked on "Messenger". A list appeared as Ichigo changed the television channel to a news casting. He doubled click on a name and a chat window appeared.

_Ichigo: Hey Ka-chan, how you doing? _

Ichigo typed. Immediately, he had a response.

_Ka_Chan: Hey Ichinii, yeah I'm fine. You?_

_Ichigo: I'm good. I'm happy that you're leaving tomorrow for here. _

_Ka_Chan: Same. I need a break. All this interruptions down here are a real pain in the ass. I can't even go out without wearing shades, a wig and a hoody. Oh and heavy make up…for the cheek you know?_

Ichigo sighed.

_Ichigo: Don't worry. Life up here in a Northern town is pretty simple, quiet and laid back. Well, I wouldn't say quiet and laid back for school but enough for you to get the hang of it._

_Ka_Chan: Haha that's great. Oh yeah, dad asked if lodging has been settled?_

_Ichigo: The school will inform me tomorrow morning so not to worry. Once I got it settled, I'll message you. _

_Ka_Chan: Thanks!_

_Ichigo: How's your stomach?_

_Ka_Chan: Slightly better. There's still a bad discolouration there and I still have problems bending down. I still have to use a stupid kid's toy just to pick things up from the ground. Thank goodness it's just at home. _

_Ichigo: What about at school?_

_Ka_Chan: ……I've yet to think about it. _

_Ichigo: Don't worry. I'll think of something for you. _

_Ka_Chan: I got to go Ichi-nii, I'll talk to you later. Love you!_

_Ichigo: Love you too. _

Ichigo laid back and looked up at the television screen. What would be useful for helping pick up things other than using a kid's toy?

* * *

"Make sure you apply the cream twice a day. If it gets really painful, the pills here will help. And don't forget that if you need help picking up something, don't be afraid to ask someone."

"Yuzu, I know, you've gone through it with me last night."

"And remember, don't try to prove to anyone you can do something. First priority is to get well."

"Yuzu, I got it. I"-

"And don't forget to call me."

Isshin sighed and closed the car boot. He turned around to see his two daughters embracing each other in a twin tight hug. It brought a swelling feeling to his stomach as he watched them shed tears. Karin did not deserve what happened to her and yet, she had to suffer the aftermath. Now he had to send her away in order for her to have a proper life. What kind of father sends their injured children far away?

He turned to the sky as the sun started to set. It was a five-hour journey to the town and it would be around three am when they reach their destination.

_Masaki…please help Karakura town return back to normal for our dear Karin-Chan. _Isshin prayed as he watched his daughters have to pry themselves away from each other.

"I'm going to miss-s you." Yuzu cried. This was the first time her twin was leaving her for a long period of time. They had always been together and the sudden emptiness in a pair brought about more tears.

"Don't worry. Time moves quickly." Karin wiped her tears away and proceeded to wipe her sister's tears away.

"I'll be back before you know it." Karin pressed her forehead against Yuzu's forehead.

"I'll call you everyday. If not, I'll catch you online. You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm hard to shake off." Karin joked. Yuzu giggled and hugged her sister tightly one more time.

"Come on girls, daddy is going to cry if you get anymore emotional." Isshin chuckled.

Yuzu nodded and released Karin. After one last touch to her hair, Yuzu knew she was ready to let Karin go.

"I'll call you when I get there." Karin gave a small kiss on her twin's cheek. "Love you Yuzu. See you!"

"I'll be back tomorrow Yuzu. Take care of the house, sweetheart." Isshin waved to his daughter. He opened the car door and slowly helped Karin into the passenger front seat. After buckling Karin down, he went over to the driver side and got in.

Yuzu wiped her tear away and she watched the car drove off. First Ichigo, now Karin, it was getting more and more lonelier in the house. But maybe, that is what growing up does, it takes people further away.

* * *

It was already a long journey on the road. The moon was high in the sky and the night breeze was fluttering about in the car, tossing Karin's hair about. Isshin glanced over at his sleeping daughter. He sighed. Karin had his black hair and eyes, but she had her mother's fiery spirit. She never gave up, even when Masaki had left. Yuzu on the other hand looked almost like Masaki with her hair and eyes. She even had the soft heart of their mother. Ichigo was more like him though. The fights he had gotten into, Isshin wondered if he really rubbed that off his son.

Isshin smiled. _Our kids are growing up just fine. I know they are. I'm not a bad dad, aren't I, Masaki? _

A star twinkled in the sky, as if Masaki was laughing with him. Isshin chuckled.

"What?" Isshin noticed a car stopped in the distance. It looked like a Karakura cab had stalled at the side of the road. There were two people out, one being the driver and the other a passenger, most likely. Isshin slowly down to a stop next to the cab.

"Kind sir, what happened?" Isshin asked. The cab driver looked up from his car hood and scratched his head.

"Don't know. The battery just died and I just had it replaced two days ago." The cab driver explained. Isshin looked over to the young lady.

"Where are you headed, Ms?" Isshin asked.

"I'm heading up to Northern Town." The girl replied. She held onto her jacket as the strong night breeze blew against her.

"That's where I'm going with my daughter." Isshin patted Karin's head. The girl peered in and noticed that he was not lying. There was a girl about two years younger than her sleeping next to him in the passenger seat.

"Miss, I think maybe you should hitch a ride with them. The pick up truck is going to take about two hours to get here." The cab driver stated.

"Alright." The girl decided. "How much should I pay you then?" She reached into her handbag and pulled out her wallet.

"Thirty dollars." The cab driver glanced at the meter. "Sorry again." He apologized.

"Not to worry." The girl smiled. The cab driver went over to the cab boot and opened it up. He pulled out her suitcase and helped load it up in Isshin's car. The girl waved goodbye to the cab driver as Isshin started the car.

"Buckle up." Isshin glanced at the girl through his rear view mirror. She sat behind Karin and buckled herself in.

"My name is Kurosaki Isshin," Isshin introduced himself as he drove off. "And the sleepy head here is Karin."

"I'm Orihime Inoue. Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san. Thank you for assisting me. That's awfully kind of you." Orihime leaned forward.

"It's no problem. We're heading in the same direction aren't we?" Isshin smiled kindly.

"You're heading to Northern Town for holiday?" He asked.

"Nope, I'm starting my new term at their school there." Orihime leaned her head against the car seat.

"Oh, so is my daughter here. Her older brother is studying there right now. Kurosaki Ichigo, that's his name." Isshin said.

"Really? How nice, she won't be alone then." Orihime smiled sadly. How she wished she still had her brother around to keep her company. She looked over at the sleeping girl and sighed. _That Karin is really lucky…_

* * *

Hitsugaya got up from bed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was five in the morning and a Good Friday. That meant no school so he could head down to the shop and work. He pulled out his jeans and a baby green t-shirt from his drawer. After dressing himself, he grabbed his keys and opened his room door. Just as he stepped out, the apartment door open. In came stumbling in the rest of his apartment mates, all drunk except for one, Renji.

"Oi, oh, hey Toushirou," Renji greeted as he tried to hold up Ikkaku and Hisagi.

Hitsugaya eyed the blabbering drunks and tucked his keys into his jeans pocket.

"Abarai. I guess me greeting them won't make a difference since they're completely wasted." Hitsugaya shrugged.

"Heh, they had too much to drink despite my warnings. Oh well, it's a Good Friday, they had to take it." Renji grunted as he tried to hold his weight.

"What are you doing up so early?" Renji asked as he dropped Ikkaku and Hisagi on the couch.

"Going to work." Hitsugaya headed towards the door.

"Hey Toushirou, you got time for lunch later?" Renji asked.

"Maybe. I'm quite busy." And the door closed.

"He says he always got work. What the hell does he do?" Renji wondered.

* * *

Hitsugaya stepped out of the apartment building and greeted the early morning fresh air. There were good things about the Northern Town. It was homely, clean, safe and fresh. It was very different from a bustling city where the noise never died, danger always hidden and the filth never receded. It was a good change. Hitsugaya pulled out his keys and made his way to his teal moped that was parked under the tree. He got onto his moped and wore on his helmet. He started the engine and headed off.

Shops on the streets were still closed as he rode pass them. He could not imagine himself working in those shops, now somewhere too close to school. No, thank goodness his cousin opened up her business much further from the centre of the town.

Soon he neared a sign that read "Hinamori's Bed and Breakfast Cottage". He drove into the compound and parked his moped under the tree. He looked up and noticed through the window that the counter area was still dark. It seemed like he had to take first shift. Hitsugaya entered the cottage and rounded the counter. He tucked his helmet under the desk. He switched on the counter lights and turned on the computer to check for the day's booking.

"Kurosaki Isshin." Hitsugaya read on the monitor. The family name immediately brought up the conversation he had with Ichigo.

"Must be his old man." Hitsugaya sighed.

Half an hour passed and a car pulled up in the compound. Hitsugaya came out of the back with a sweater on. He saw a man and two girls got out of the car.

_I thought Kurosaki said one sister?_ Hitsugaya thought. He headed out of the cottage and headed toward the car. At that time, the driver would most probably was ready to collapse from driving overnight.

"Let me help." Hitsugaya offered. "I work here." He could not tell if the man was really Ichigo's father as the man and his daughter had black hair. Strangely though, he could not help but find the black hair girl a thing of beauty. Her dark grey eyes twinkled the moment they locked eyes. The other girl had dark orange hair, similar to Ichigo. However she looked older than Karin so she could not be the twin sister.

"Thanks son," Isshin pulled out Karin's suitcase while Hitsugaya reached for the other Orihime's suitcase.

Hitsugaya grabbed the suitcase and brought it into the cottage. He settled it down at the waiting area and went behind the counter.

"Kurosaki Isshin." Isshin mentioned his name.

"Yep, a room for one right?" Hitsugaya clicked on the mouse.

"Yep. Do you have another room by any chance? That young lady there lost the address and number to another home stay she booked so now she has nowhere to go." Isshin enquired.

"We have an extra." Hitsugaya replied.

"He's cute, isn't he?" Orihime leaned toward Karin. She noticed that the moment they saw him, Karin had adorned a mesmerized look on her face. An hour after her pickup from the road, Karin had awoken and gotten to know Orihime. Since they were also going to be schoolmates, they quickly became friends.

"Huh?" Karin turned over to Orihime. "No…he's not." Karin defended herself.

"You had that look on your face." Orihime teased.

"What look? I was just caught up at how white his natural hair is, that's all." Karin said.

"It's natural? How would you know?" Orihime was surprised.

"You can tell by their eyebrows. His eyebrows are white as well. So it's natural." Karin explained.

"Oh. Interesting." Orihime said. "He's got gorgeous eyes too." Orihime commented.

"If you're interested, go ask him out then." Karin pouted.

"Me? No way. He's got to be around your age. I don't date younger guys. Besides, if I have to ask him anything, it would be if he's single and interested in you." Orihime giggled.

"I don't like you and don't you dare." Karin slapped Orihime's shoulder.

"Alright, I won't." Orihime smiled.

"Alright, I've got another room for you Orihime. Come on girls, Hitsugaya-san will show us to our rooms." Isshin motioned the girls.

"Oh yes, Hitsugaya-san, I forgot to introduce my daughter and her friend." Isshin called out for Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya mentally sighed. He really was not interested in introductions, however as it was his job to keep guests happy, he had no other choice. He put the suitcase down and headed toward where the two girls were seated.

"This is my daughter Kurosaki-Karin and this young lady is Orihime Inoue." Isshin introduced. The two girls bowed and Hitsugaya bowed in return.

"My name is Hitsugaya Toushirou. A pleasure to meet you ladies." Hitsugaya smiled.

Karin mentally swooned at the smoothness of his voice before mentally slapping herself. _What's wrong with you? Never seen a boy for sixteen years? God…_

"Charming fellow," Isshin smacked Hitsugaya's back.

"Ouff" Hitsugaya stumbled a bit.

"Dad…you don't have to break his back." Karin frowned.

"Sorry son, sometimes I forget my own strength." Isshin boasted. Karin sighed and shook her head. Maybe it was about time her father got some sleep.

As they waited at the lift, Karin turned to her father.

"Hey dad, is it okay if I share a room with Orihime-san?" Karin asked.

"If she's okay with it." Isshin smiled.

Orihime smiled back with a nod. "Some company would be nice."

"Alright then. I think I can find my room just fine. Hitsugaya-san, would you be so kind as to show the girls they're room then since we're on both floors?" Isshin smiled.

"Of course."

* * *

Hitsugaya settled the two suitcases in the room. The girls stepped into the room and immediately felt very comfortable. Karin turned around to Hitsugaya as he flipped the sign to "Do Not Disturb".

"Breakfast comes with the room so no charge for it. Breakfast starts at nine am." Hitsugaya spoke.

"Thanks Hitsugaya-san." Karin smiled.

"No problem." Hitsugaya smiled. He was about to turn away when he was posed a question.

"I-is there…you know, umm...anything interesting up here in Northern Town?" Karin blushed lightly.

Hitsugaya noticed her stammer and smiled. "Well, the spring festival is coming up soon. It's annual. People tend to dress up a little for the event."

"Oh, when is it and what do they usually have?" Karin inquired.

"Two weeks later. It's doesn't have big rides but it has small stalls of minute games. The only ride attraction would be the ferris wheel. Other than that, there's the skateboard park here, if you skate board. There's a horse farm, the beach, the flower garden, lover's hill top and pretty much that's it." Hitsugaya answered.

"Lover's hilltop? Sounds like where couples make out." Karin asked.

"Probably but mostly in the less open areas of the hill. The open meadow is a good place for star gazing." Hitsugaya smiled.

"Oh, right. Thanks. Will take note of that since I'll be staying here for quite a while." Karin laughed nervously.

"Studying here?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Yeah, my big brother studies in one of this here town's school." Karin rocked on her heels once. Hitsugaya nodded and then realized he had been talking too much to his guest.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be keeping you from your rest." Hitsugaya apologized.

"Oh, no, really, it's fine." Karin laced her fingers together.

"I shall take my leave. Have a good rest, Ms. Kurosaki-san, Ms. Orihime-san." Hitsugaya bowed out and closed the room door.

Karin sighed. _He must think I am idiot right now. Way to go. The first boy you think you are crushing on and you scared him away. _

"I think he likes you." Orihime giggled. Karin jumped. She had completely forgotten that Orihime was in the room as well.

* * *

Hi guys, this story is inspired by Jacqueline Diaz (not me though we share the same name). I love her drawings and got inspired to do this. I have gone through more than ten drafts and finally settled on this one.

Please enjoy it and leave your comments in the reviews :)

And please note that I do not take anymore requests as I am finding it hard to finish those that I have done halfway. I do not wish to disappoint anyone further (which I am pretty sure I have).

The second chapter will come up once I have completed all my requests. Promise! *Please excuse my grammatical mistakes if you spot any! I'll come back and fix it later.


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo pulled on his pair of knee torn jeans and threw on a short sleeve baby blue stripped shirt. He grabbed his car key and wallet from his desk, and lightly sprayed cologne over his head. It was nine-thirty in the morning and he had just received a text message from Karin that they were going down for breakfast. He grabbed his sneakers from under his bed and headed out his room. As soon as he reached the front door, he noticed loud snores behind him. He turned around to see Hisagi and Ikkaku fast asleep on the couch; their mouths wide open with drool coming down on the side. He simply shook his head and quietly exited.

* * *

He made a turn into the compound and found a good parking space in the shade of a tree. He switched off his engine and was about to unbuckle his seat belt when he noticed a teal moped next to his car.

_That looks a lot like Toushirou's moped. _He thought. He got out and locked his car. He headed round to examine the moped. It was clean of stickers and the license plate looked similar to Toushirou's. Ichigo tried to recall the numbers and alphabets but they were a blur to him. Shrugging off that for all he could know it belonged to someone else, Ichigo turned around and headed toward the cottage. Besides, why would Toushirou be at a Bed and Breakfast Cottage?

"Good morning! A reservation sir?" Came a chirpy greeting. Ichigo turned to the counter to see a young lady with dark brown chocolate hair and hazel eyes. She had a warm smile that reminded him of a mother's.

"Um, no. I'm actually here looking for my family. May I know where the breakfast is being held?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, come, let me show you." The lady got round the counter. Before she left, she rang the bell and called out.

"Rioju-san, please man the counter for a while. Thanks!" And with that the lady motioned Ichigo to follow her. They headed round the back and soon entered a small cafe that had a buffet table at the front. It was non-air conditioned and there were several chairs and tables out on the stone floorings of a garden that surrounded the guests.

"Thank you, uh…"

"Hinamori," Hinamori bowed.

"Thank you Hinamori-san, I can find my family from here." Ichigo smiled. As she turned on her heel and made her way out of the café, Ichigo looked around for his family. Soon enough, he spotted his sister at a table in the garden. Their father was not present at the moment. Probably he had not came down for breakfast yet. But there was someone else as well. Her back was facing him but she long dark orange hair, similar to his hair colour.

* * *

Karin savored the butter croissant. Never had she tasted such fine croissant in her life. It was so warm and delicious that she felt she had her tongue taken to heaven and back.

"This is really good." Karin swallowed. She took her knife and spread some cream cheese on it.

"Everything here is really good. This is my second plate under half and hour." Orihime pushed a waffle coated with powdered sugar into her mouth.

"I think I'll come here more often. I love sitting out here in the garden, especially on the stone paths." Karin said. She looked around and noticed that not only was the food amazing but the flowers that decorated the brim of the garden and around the small fountain were in full bloom.

"Man do I love spring." Karin smiled. When they came down at nine, the first thing that hit them was the smell of freshly baked bread along with the fairly faint fragrance of flowers swirling in the air. The atmosphere was very homely and comfortable. But something kept poking at the back of her mind. Where was that cute Toushirou guy? Surely she did not frighten him off? Was she too on coming? Was it a tad bit too much?

_The first boy I think I like and I scared him off…epic fail at approaching the opposite gender with real interest Karin…You'll be the next 40 year old virgin. _Karin thought sadly.

"Are you thinking about him, Karin-chan?" Orihime asked.

"Do you think I was a bit…hard on him?" Karin winced at the imaginary pain of embarrassment.

"Don't be silly. You were light as a feather." Orihime laughed. Obviously the girl embarrassed before her had just experienced her first interest in a guy. Thankfully she was not like the girls she knew before who literally threw themselves at every guy's feet.

"I'm serious. I think I scared him off." Karin bit her lip.

"Hardly and I think he likes you." Orihime patted the back of the sugar powder can and watched the powder snow heavily on her waffle.

"What makes you think that?" Karin asked.

"Well for starters, it was the way he looked at you when he first saw you. He had that surprised look on his face, like as if it was the first time he actually saw a pretty girl." Orihime grabbed her fork and stuck it into her waffle.

"Like real." Karin sighed. She pressed her chin against the palm of her hand and looked off to the side.

"You think so?" Karin turned back to Orihime.

"I think." Orihime smiled.

"Give me a figure." Karin scrunched up the tablecloth in her fingers.

"60%."

"60? I can't even make it to 50% and you think he li-….oh…you said 60%. Actually that's not that bad." Karin calmed herself down.

"Karin, why are you so anxious?" Orihime laughed.

"Cause…well…I've…never liked a guy before and…well no guy has ever liked me." Karin hung her head low.

"And why's that?" Orihime was surprised.

"Cause I have a twin who is a thousand times prettier than me. I scare boys with one look, she attracts them without even having to smile." Karin hung her head low. In all fairness, she carried no resentment against Yuzu. She loved her twin to bits and she knew her twin was not as low as some girls Karin knew. But sometimes she felt smaller compared to Yuzu, she was pretty, she was kind, she could cook, she could clean, she could practically do anything an ideal woman could do. Hell she was training to become a doctor. What more could a man want from her?

"That's not true." Orihime stared at Karin, still in surprise.

"Why?" Karin lifted her head up.

"Cause I think you're very, very pretty. You just don't realize it yourself." Orihime stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Karin smiled. She was glad she met someone like Orihime.

"Thanks…I guess I'm being silly…you know getting caught up over a guy." Karin let out a stifled laugh.

"What guy?" Karin straightened her back and turned around to face her brother. He had not changed much in appearance, except he looked more built but not too built.

"Ichi-nii!" Karin jumped to her feet and threw her arms on her brother. Her inner worries and fears had vanished at the sight of her brother, like as if the sunrays broke through the dark clouds.

_That's her brother? _Orihime watched as the guy picked Karin up and swung her around.

Ichigo laughed heartily as he placed his baby sister back on the ground. It brought him great relief to finally see her. The whole night he could not sleep properly as the anxiety to see his baby sister ran through the night. Now that she was with him away from all the craziness back home, and safe, he could rest easier and do his part as her big brother.

Karin inhaled her brother's scent. His loving and warm embrace nearly brought small tears to her eyes as she felt like it had been forever since she last saw him. She pulled away from her brother and felt his thumb brush across his cheek. Surprised that she actually shed a tear, Karin giggled and wiped the rest of the oncoming tears away.

"Oh and who is this?" Ichigo noticed the girl sitting next to Karin.

"Ichi-nii, this is Orihime Inoue. She's from Karakura town as well. We picked her up along the way here cause her cab broke down." Karin introduced. Orihime stood up and dusted her hands from crumbs.

"Hello," Orihime blushed as she met Karin's older brother's eyes. He had a warm glow in his eyes, something she had not seen in other people for a long time since her brother died.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo bowed respectfully.

"She's going to your- well our school too." Karin shifted her plate and motioned Ichigo to take her seat.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind me asking but which school were you previously from?" Ichigo asked.

"Mondo High." Orihime laced her fingers together under the table.

"Mondo High? That's a pretty good school. A friend of mine goes there." Ichigo said.

"Who Ichi-nii?" Karin passed him a croissant.

"Neliel. She was here for a short bit but went to that school cause of her javelin throw medals. But I heard it is pretty rough there." Ichigo commented.

"Among the students? Yeah, it's hard to not get shoved around." Orihime shifted uncomfortably.

Noticing her discomfort on the topic, Ichigo turned to Karin and cleared his throat.

"Where's dad?"

"He's still in the room sleeping. He drove all night so I'm not surprised he couldn't get up after my tenth wake up call for breakfast." Karin smiled.

* * *

Throughout the breakfast, Karin could only grin at her brother's little crush. It was so obvious that he could not take his eyes off Orihime. In fact, this was the first time she had seen her brother like a girl, attraction wise. She could see a certain sparkle in his eyes, something Karin had not seen in a long time since their mother had passed away. It was not that he had lost interest in the opposite gender. It was just that ever since then, he had devoted so much of his time to work, school and family. The only time he paid attention to the opposite genders was when he was having his 'personal' time with his playboy magazines in his bedroom. When he shifted out, Karin found several loose pages lying around.

As for Orihime, Karin could tell that she was a little shy around Ichigo. She blushed several times and stammered a little when they conversed. She kept looking away from him whenever her brother stared at her.

_They couldn't be subtler. _Karin shook her head and poked her fork into her pastry.

"You know, I heard there is the spring festival coming up. Maybe we should all go." Karin brought up. _And then ditch them later. _

Orihime turned to Karin giving her a surprised shy look. Karin simply looked away and set her sight on her brother.

"What do you say? We haven't been to one and I have a feeling it's going to be fun." Karin grinned.

"Maybe. But let's see first. Orihime may have friends she wants to go with." Ichigo laughed a little nervously.

"Well we're her friends now aren't we?" Karin said. Ichigo gave Orihime an awkward smile before bringing Karin under his arm and nudging the top of her head with his fist.

"Wh-What the hell? What did I do to deserve this?" Karin tried to pry herself from her brother's lock.

"Don't give her unnecessary pressure." Ichigo laughed it off.

"Gah! Let me go!" Karin squirmed. A melodious laughed escaped Orihime's lips as she watched Karin have her head locked in her brother's arms.

"O-oOW!" Karin yelped and instantly Ichigo released her. Karin sat upright and placed her palm over cheek and cringed. It was then Ichigo realized he had hit her bruise.

"Oh, I'm sorry Karin, I'm so sorry." Ichigo placed his hand over her hand and pulled it away from her cheek. In the next second, he felt his heart plummet. His little wrestle with her had smudged some make up off her cheek revealing the brownish yellowish bruise she had received from her assault.

Noticing his sudden silence, Karin instantly replaced her hand over her cheek.

"It's healing, Ichi-nii." Karin gave a smile.

"How did you get that?" Orihime asked, a hint of shock in her voice.

"Oh, just a little accident at home." Karin lied. "It's no big deal."

Ichigo remained silent as his sister reached into her bag and pulled out her make up case.

"I'll be right back." Karin smiled and got up. With her make up case in her palm, Karin left the table.

* * *

"Got all your things Karin?" Isshin leaned against the stair railing. Karin jogged down the stairs and stopped halfway. She snapped her finger.

"I forgot my hairdryer!" Karin turned around and headed back up the stairs. She gave way to her brother as he carried down her bags.

"Give me her bags. Help the young lady with hers." Isshin took Karin's bags from Ichigo.

Ichigo turned around and noticed that Orihime was at the top of the stairs with two suitcases.

"Here let me." Ichigo headed up and grabbed the suitcases.

"Oh, no, it's okay. I can manage." Orihime blushed.

"Let me." Ichigo smiled.

Orihime bit her lip and reluctantly gave him her suitcases. She watched in awe as he easily took them from her hands and headed down the stairs like as if they weighed nothing.

"Just realized I packed my hair dryer already." Karin appeared behind Orihime. She stood behind Orihime for a while and observed that her gaze was on her brother. With a smirk on her face, she walked past Orihime and headed down the stairs.

"He's single by the way." Karin casually informed.

Orihime blinked for a while, running by what Karin had just said a second ago. She blushed hard. She proceeded down the stairs and out of the inn door just in time to see Ichigo load her last bag into the boot of what she assumed to be his car.

"I'll be back in a month's time to check on you. Yuzu will be coming a long as well." Isshin reached behind his head and ruffled his untidy hair.

"I need a shower." Isshin muttered. The slam of the boot shook Karin out of her thoughts. She was literally starting a new chapter in Northern Town with her brother and without her father or sister. It suddenly started to tug heavily at Karin's heart.

"Aw, sweetheart, dad will be back soon." Isshin noticed her eyes started to water up.

"I'm not crying!" Karin snapped but her actions defied her point. She quickly swiped away a tear and bit her lip. Isshin chuckled.

"Daddy will make those people go away and you can go back to your life the way it was, alright?" Isshin kneeled down and pulled Karin into a hug. Karin's only reply was a simple nod with more tears dripping off her chin onto her father's collar. A rare moment occurred, Karin slipped her around her father's neck and hugged him tight.

Ichigo sighed and tucked his hands into his jeans pocket. Sisters, they were the more emotional ones, that were what mother had always told him before she died. And because of that, he had to up his protection level now that Karin was under his care.

"You alright?" Orihime casually asked.

"Hmm, sorry?" Ichigo turned to Orihime.

"You seem a little tensed, getting emotional?" Orihime smiled. For a second, Ichigo thought she saw right through him, that piece of anger burning but then he realized she had not.

"Very funny," Ichigo chuckled softly.

"You're sister is very pretty." Orihime commented as she watched Isshin tuck a lock of Karin's hair behind her ears and said some words of encouragement.

"She is." Ichigo smiled softly.

"So, is big brother going to ward away all potential dates?" Orihime joked.

"Starting right now? Most definitely." Ichigo crossed his arms and smiled.

* * *

As soon as Karin arrived at the apartment, she noticed a very familiar face waving toward them from the pavement. Ichigo parked the car close to the curb and got out. Karin quickly alighted the car and rushed over to the pavement.

"Rukia!" Karin leapt toward Rukia and flung her arms around Rukia's neck. Ichigo smiled widely as he took a glance over at the happy reunion. It had been a long time since Rukia visited Karin. Ever since Rukia took on being the school's ambassador, she hardly had time to take days off to relax what with all the school events increasing in number every semester. She always had to be somewhere and knowing her, Rukia was always half to an hour early.

"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot you go here with Ichi-nii!" Karin kissed Rukia's cheek.

"Of course! Who else has to pull your brother out of trouble half the time?" Rukia laughed.

"You can't be anymore right." Karin finally let go of Rukia and turned to her brother and Orihime.

"Oh right, this is Orihime Inoue. She's new here as well." Karin introduced. Orihime bowed lightly to which Rukia bowed before a dawning expression came upon her face.

"Oh, so you're my other apartment mate apart from Karin." Rukia clapped her hands together.

"Wait, me? Really? And Orihime too?" Karin jumped.

"Looks like I'll have a better time looking after your baby sister, Ichigo." Rukia gave an all-knowing look toward Ichigo only to which he responded with rolling his eyes.

"Excellent, I am liking this already." Karin broke into a small victory dance.

"Come on skiddy feet, grab your bags and let's go up." Ichigo, with Orihime's bags in hand, bumped Karin as he passed her.

"Sure, take Orihime's bags and don't mind mine just sitting there, looking lonely, and hurting that you prefer Orihime over your little sister." Karin pouted before she gave a wink toward Orihime's direction.

"Whatever." Ichigo chuckled before he disappeared into the building.

"So where are you from?" Rukia asked Orihime while Karin went to grab her bags and suitcase.

"Karakura Town, same as Karin and Ichigo." Orihime answered.

"Alright, let's go. I want to start redecorating my room as fast as possible." Karin rushed past them, her hands full.

"Always pumped." Rukia shook her head with a smile.

"She's got energy." Orihime commented.

"Like her brother during rugby." Rukia reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. She tapped it on a small card reader and a 'click' sound signaled Rukia to open the gate.

"Wait, how did Ichi-nii get in without the card?" Karin asked.

"He and his guys stay directly below our unit." Rukia grinned.

* * *

"This is your room." Rukia flipped the switch and the lights turned on. Orihime stepped into her room. It was slightly smaller than her bedroom but it was decent and comfortable. A bed, a chair, a desk, a towel rack, a cabinet, carpet, curtains, bed necessities such as blankets and bed sheets all done, room slippers and bedside table, the basics were all there.

"Looks good." Orihime nodded.

"I took the liberty of getting room slippers for you. Hope you don't mind." Rukia pointed out.

"Oh thank you, I really appreciate that. Um, would you like me to pay you back?" Orihime bit her lip.

"Huh? No, no, really, all the slippers here are free of charge." Rukia smiled. Deciding that little details were not of importance, Orihime settled her bag on the floor next to her bed.

"My room is next to yours. Karin's is at the other"-

"I love my room!" They heard Karin exclaim from the other end of the apartment.

"Hey that's not fair, the guy in Ichi-nii's unit has a balcony and I don't!"

"That's cause I have it!" Rukia laughed.

"Darn!"

While the girls settled their suitcases into their room, Rukia pulled out a notepad and pen from a table drawer in the living room. She sat down on the wooden dining counter in the kitchen and started to jot down phone numbers.

"What are you writing?" Karin came up to her.

"Phone numbers. Mine, your brother's, his friends and mine. For emergencies in case you can't reach either me or your brother." Rukia answered and tore out the paper. She hopped off the high seat and proceeded to the fridge. She stuck a chappy magnet onto the paper in the middle of the fridge door. Just as she turned to face Karin, Orihime had exited her room.

"Right, now that you girls are here, I got a few rules." Rukia hopped back onto her seat.

"First, no boys allowed in bedrooms, that applies to Ichigo's friends. Of course, Ichigo is allowed in Karin's room since he's the brother. Part two of rule one, the only guys allowed to be in this apartment are the guys below us. I've known them long enough so all is good.

Second, all food are to be eaten on the counter, no food to be consumed in the bedrooms. Third, all plates and cups, frying pans and cutleries are to be washed right after use. I don't care who waits for whom, you do it straight away. Fourth, the rubbish chute is at the back. I appreciate before you toss any rubbish away, don't have it leaking on the lid or the front. I don't want stick handles because it's just gross. Fifth, no pets allowed. We don't have time to look after it for one another and it is a hassle for clean up. I can go on and on but you can read all the rest in the booklet I drafted up last night in the drawers of your bedside tables. All good?" Rukia chirped.

"Question, do you guys mind if I play my guitar in the evenings?" Karin had her hand raised.

"Are you any good?" Rukia questioned.

"I'm pretty good." Karin smiled.

"I'll take your word for it."

"I sew though, is that a problem?" Orihime piped up.

"You sew clothes?" Karin's eyes lit up.

"I don't mind sewing if it's not while either of us are sleeping." Rukia gave out a new rule.

"I'll take note. I sew mainly tops and skirts. Pants are still…ehh needs work." Orihime blushed.

"Sweet, I got my own personal designer." Karin giggled.

Suddenly, a vibration sets off on the table. The girls looked around before Rukia realized it was her blackberry vibrating at the end where she placed her card and wallet. She leaned over and pulled her phone toward her.

"Hello?" Rukia answered before pulling the phone away accompanied by yelling.

"Shut up guys, she's not a blonde. Dumb fucks. Hello? Ey yo Rukia, Ichigo says yank Karin down, we're going out for dinner. Ask Orihime if she's interested in joining us."

Karin burst out laughing at the sound of Renji's voice. Renji had always been like a second Ichigo to her, a second brother in her life. Renji assisted Ichigo out in many ways, especially adjusting to a new school all on his own. If it were not for Renji, Karin was sure Ichigo may not have faired as well as he looked to fair right now.

"They're idiots when they want to be. Just ignore them." Rukia had her hand over the speak box of her blackberry.

* * *

"Yo Ichigo, Rukia says all three of 'em are set on going out tonight. The girls will ride with you. The guys will hop in my car." Renji pushed his iPhone in his jeans

Ichigo got out of the bedroom in a simple pair of jeans and a loose dark blue T-shirt. He ruffled his freshly showered hair with his towel before resting the towel on his shoulders.

"Sure, hey, did anyone ask Toushirou?" Ichigo walked back into his room, realizing he had not taken out his shoes.

"The guy hasn't returned from work yet." Renji checked for his car keys in his jeans pocket.

"He never says he never has work. It's like he doesn't want to be around us." Ikkaku walked out of his room, ready to go.

"I wonder why." Renji muttered as he thought back on their drunk state.

"Shit, I'm thinking back on that night. I think I accidentally hit on a man dressed as a woman while I was drunk." Hisagi pressed his palm to his forehead.

Just as Renji was about to put on his shoes, the apartment door opened and in walked in Hitsugaya.

"Hey, Toushirou, we're going out to dinner. Want to join us?" Renji asked as Hitsugaya took off his shoes.

"No thanks already had dinner. You guys enjoy yourselves." Hitsugaya tired his best to politely declined but his tone came out a little off.

"Save it Renji, the guy has got a curfew for himself." Ikkaku took a seat on the couch and turned on the TV.

"What does that mean?" Hitsugaya coolly asked.

"Well, we haven't really gotten to know you since you got here and we thought since we're on the same team, we"-

"You're like an Ice man with no feelings." Ikkaku bluntly put. Renji and Hisagi shot Ikkaku a glare but both realized he had a point. Hitsugaya remained quiet for a moment, his face frozen and stoic, an expression anyone found it hard to read what he thought.

"If that's how you feel, fine, I'll go for dinner." Hitsugaya gave in. A hand smacked down on Hitsugaya shoulder. Hitsugaya turned around and looked up to see Ichigo with a smile.

"That's cool. So who would you want to ride with? We're taking two cars. Mine and Renji's." Ichigo said.

"Who is riding with who?" Hitsugaya wore his shoes back on.

"Hisagi and Ikkaku are with me. The girls are with Ichigo." Renji answered.

Hitsugaya contemplated for a moment. It was either having a frigid moment with Ikkaku on the way to dinner or spacing out in a car full of chatty girls.

"I'll ride with you." Hitsugaya glanced over at Ichigo.

* * *

**So so sorry for taking such a long time to update. I'm finishing up my first fanfic "someone for me" and I had to redraft this chapter several times because I didn't like how they were previously. Same thing happened with the first chapter. For those reading "Someone for me", it will be up on Thursday, my time though haha. As for chapter 3 in Meet me halfway, it will be up on Friday, a day after "Someone for me" gets updated. **

**I promise for some Ichihime moments, that including HitsuKarin in the next chapter. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I had to delete this earlier. There were problems viewing this chapter so I'm hoping by re-uploading it again will solve this problem.**

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* * *

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Karin sat on her bed and bounced on it up and down several times. "Hmm, not too hard, not too soft."

She got off her bed and went to her window. She opened the window and looked out. Right outside was a large tree with thick branches branched out towards her window and the balcony below her. Suddenly the balcony door below her opened. Karin looked down and her eyes widened at the blizzard of white hair that appeared on the balcony.

_That's the guy from the bed and breakfast! _She thought. _Toushirou isn't it? _Karin tried to remember. There he was below her, shirtless and in a pair of straight jeans. His muscles were not as prominent as Ichigo's but it was visible enough to make any girl want to take a second look. His toned abs and fairly tanned skin got her mentally drooling at his physique. His teal eyes and solid good looks were making her brain cells fizz out again.

"You shouldn't stare at people, especially when they're half naked." He spoke. Karin snapped out of thoughts and met Hitsugaya's eyes.

"I…sorry. I was just trying to remember your name." Karin lied.

"It's Hitsugaya Toushirou." He replied with a straight face. No smile, no emotion, nothing.

"So…you're staying with my brother?" Karin chirped nervously and quickly.

"Yeah. I'm his apartment mate. You're his sister I'm sure." Hitsugaya crossed his arms.

"Yep. Kurosaki Karin but just call me…Karin."

"Toushirou. Not Shirou."

"I'm sorry?" Karin gave a quizzical look.

"People think calling me by a short form of my name, Shirou, is okay with me but it's not. I prefer just Toushirou."

"Oh, yeah I understand. My friends used to call me Rin-chan. I hate it." Karin gave a friendly smile.

After a few seconds, Hitsugaya relaxed his arms. "You should try to keep your windows closed when you're out. Squirrels tend to like to jump down from the branches."

"Squirrels? Really? That's cute, I think." Karin tucked a lock of her hair behind her hear.

"They look cute but trust me, they can be pretty nasty especially with what they leave behind in your room." Hitsugaya chuckled lightly. A steady blush formed over Karin as she felt her heart skip faster than normal.

_What the hell is wrong with me? _Karin bit her lip softly

"How's security like here?" Karin tried to divert her attention away from her unusual speed of her heartbeat.

"Here at the campus or here at Northern Town?" Hitsugaya leaned against the railing of his balcony.

"Both."

"It's pretty okay. I normally wouldn't advise people to let their guard down at any point though." Hitsugaya shrugged.

"Good point." Karin rapped her fingers on her windowsill.

"Will you be joining us later for dinner?" She hoped.

"Getting ready now. Ichigo should be calling you down any minute." His answer instantly placed a smile on Karin's face.

"Right, well… see you then." Karin smiled.

"Yeah, see ya." Hitsugaya nodded. Before Karin brought her head back into her room, Hitsugaya called for her. She stuck her head back out and met his teal eyes again.

"Do me a favour, don't tell the guys you've seen me at the bed and breakfast."

"Why?" Karin raised an eyebrow.

"Just cause I like my privacy."

"Okay…do want me to tell that to Orihime-san as well?" Karin folded her arms on the windowsill.

Hitsugaya gave a faint smile. Her eyes had a certain sparkle in the depths of her grey orbs. Her black hair lightly danced on the gentle breeze of the wind as she looked down from her window.

"Yeah, thanks."

* * *

Karin pulled over a deep blue spaghetti top and pulled on a pair of black jeans. She took out her grey pull over hoodie and threw out her sneakers from her sports bag. With one hand carrying her sneakers and the other hand carrying her wallet, she stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her. As she passed the main door, she dropped her sneakers at the side before she smacked her hand to her forehead.

"Great…I need to pick that up later." Karin sighed. She shook her head and decided to deal with it later. She headed toward Orihime's room and lightly knocked on her door.

"Come in." Orihime chirped. Karin pressed down on the handle and opened the door to see Orihime zipping up her dark brown skirt at the side of her hip. She wore a long sleeve soft pink shirt and white stockings.

"Hey, are we supposed to go down now?" Orihime asked. Karin shook her head and closed the door behind her.

"Not yet. Rukia hasn't come out of her room. I need a…as my sister would say, a girl talk…if you don't mind." Karin looked to the side.

Orihime stared at her for a little while before a smile formed on her lips.

"Sure." Orihime took a seat on her bed. Karin sat down next to Orihime and remained silent for a while.

"So, what is it?" Orihime asked.

"I…I haven't had a girl talk…never …till now so I'm a bit uncomfortable to tell you the truth." Karin started off reluctantly. Orihime giggled and nudged her gently.

"If it makes you feel better what you tell me will not come out my lips to anyone else. How's that?" Orihime smiled. Karin turned to Orihime and smiled back. It was like Yuzu was right next to her, a person she could trust with anything. She could tell Orihime was not one of those sellouts or bitches that would betray secrets. She was genuine and real, not fake and terrible.

"You know…the guy at the bed and breakfast?" Karin started to blush at the thought of Hitsugaya's smile at the bread and breakfast and earlier.

"Oh the cute one?" Orihime teased.

"Yeah…him…well I saw him just now." Karin brought her legs up and hugged her knees.

"You did? How?"

"He lives with Ichi-nii and his room is directly below mine. He's the one with the balcony." Karin rested her chin on her knee.

"Really? So did you say hi?" Orihime blinked.

"Yeah…at first no. I think I sort of scared him at the start…again..." Karin sighed and buried her face in her knees.

"How?"

"I was staring at him…not being rude though…he was half naked, that's why." Karin planted her two hands on the back of her head and scrunched up her hair. She sucked at girl talking. She sucked at conversations like this. The next thing she earned back was a giggle from Orihime.

"Go on."

"Nothing…we talked."

"And?"

"Well he's joining us for dinner…and before I go on, he asks of us to pretend like we've just met him. He doesn't want the others to know where he works. He seems to like privacy a lot." Karin brought her head back up.

"Oh…okay?" Orihime thought it a little strange but then again she have met people who value their privacy a lot. Hitsugaya must be one of them.

"So he's joining us for dinner." Orihime repeated.

"I feel so weird when I see him. I mean I've seen many guys in my school but I've not met one guy who had made me feel this way till now. And it's not to say that there aren't any goodlooking guys in my school. I've seen a fair few but none has ever made an effect on me until now with Toushirou. Is it a bad or good thing? Not to mention I barely know him." Karin curled her fingers into her palm.

"Do you think it is a good feeling or a bad one?" Orihime leaned forward.

"I don't know." Karin sighed. "I swear I've never been this soft. I'm not like this back at home. I practically drill guys to the ground with my fist." Karin defended her pride. So why this guy? What about him made her such a softie so suddenly?

"Oh honey, it's not wrong to feel soft for a guy. Just because you're a toughie doesn't mean you have to be tough all the time. It's natural to feel a little weak in the knees around someone you're interested in." Orihime placed an arm around Karin and sat closer to her. So the girl finally has a crush on a boy she just met. Orihime smiled. It was like talking to a little sister who used to think boys were worse off than cooties.

"Have you felt this way before?" Karin asked.

"Well…not yet I guess." Orihime caressed Karin's arm sisterly.

"So what do I do now?" Karin asked.

"Be yourself. Be friends with him first and see where you go from there." Orihime suggested.

"Right, you're right. I should be fine..."

"You'll be fine." Orihime tucked a small lock of hair behind Karin's ears.

"Girls, we got to go!" They heard Rukia called out.

"We should get going." Orihime patted Karin's head. With a small nod, Karin hoped off the bed. Just as Karin was about to head out the door, Rukia came in.

"Inoue- Oh hey Karin, your brother is looking for you. He's on the house phone." Rukia informed.

"Right, thanks." Karin headed out of the room before Rukia closed the door behind her.

"Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute, is that okay?" Rukia asked.

"Sure." Orihime got up. "What is it about?"

Rukia sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's about Karin. I think you should know since you'll be staying with us but you got to promise this stays between me, you and Ichigo."

"I promise." Orihime took on a concerned look.

* * *

"Hurry it up Ikkaku! You've got no hair so you can stop looking in the mirror!" Hisagi hollered before sharing a short laugh with Renji. A bedroom door open and out stormed Ikkaku with a deadly glare.

"I dare you to say that one more time." He hissed before turning around and knocking Hitsugaya's bedroom door with the back of his hooked finger.

"Toushirou, let's go. Ichigo and the girls are waiting for you downstairs." Ikkaku knocked. The door immediately opened and Ikkaku was greeted with a stoic Hitsugaya dressed in a pair of navy blue jeans and a dark grey long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"Where are we eating?" Hitsugaya sighed and closed the door behind him.

"At Mrs. Henry's Burger And Tacos." Ikkaku slipped his foot into his sneaker and bent down to tie his shoelaces.

Hitsugaya sighed once more. He hated that place for two reasons, one being the food was not to his liking and two, he had a bad experience with a girl trying to get his phone number and she had not taken a simple 'no' lightly. She nearly stabbed him at his eyebrow with a fork. But since everyone seemed alright to eat there, he decided to just keep his thoughts to himself and suck it up for the evening.

"Okay guys, got my coupons. The girls should be downstairs waiting for us." Ichigo stuck his head out from his bedroom.

* * *

"I'll go press for the lift." Orihime slipped out of the apartment leaving Rukia and Karin still inside wearing their shoes. Karin bit her lip and sighed. She looked down at her shoes and contemplated. Guessing her thoughts, Rukia placed a hand on Karin's head and ruffled her hair, bringing Karin out of her thoughts.

"Let me help you." Rukia bent down and brought the shoe toward Karin's foot. After helping Karin wore her shoes on, Rukia stood up and grabbed her apartment keys on the wooden counter.

"Thank you, Rukia-san." Karin said depressingly. Rukia took Karin's hands into her own and shook it lightly.

"Hey, you'll get better. Your injury is healing right? So in order for it to heal faster, you shouldn't put any strain on it. Got it?" Rukia tilted her head to the side and gave her a warm sisterly smile.

Karin looked up and returned a sad smile. "Got it."

* * *

"Yo Rukia." Renji gave a casual wave as the girls made their way to the parked cars.

"That's Orihime? Damn she's hot." Hisagi commented. Ichigo shot Hisagi a short glare from behind but he was right, Orihime was hot. Her fiery orange hair swayed left and right as she walked toward them and her hips, not to mention her chest, could make any man go brain dead after prolong exposure.

"You got a girlfriend." Hitsugaya sighed.

"I'm just passing a harmless comment. Don't get jealous." Hisagi replied with a smirk only to earn a snarl from Hitsugaya.

"Girls, this is Hisagi Shuhei, Abarai Renji, Madarame Ikkaku and Hitsugaya Toushirou. I'm sure you all don't need me to introduce Ichigo." Rukia introduced. The guys each extended their hand out to shake Orihime's hand.

"How do you do?" Renji greeted.

"Very well. A pleasure to meet you all, I'm Orihime Inoue." Orihime bowed her head a little.

"Pleasure is ours." Hisagi tucked his hands into his jeans pocket and smirked.

"And this here is Karin." Rukia placed an arm around Karin's shoulder. "She's like my own baby sister so you lot better be nice to her because if it's not Ichigo coming after you, it's me." She warned before she earned a giggle from Karin.

"Duh, she's like my family too. Come here squirt." Renji grabbed Karin by the hand and yanked her into a hug. A smile tugged at the side of Ichigo's lips as he watched Karin embrace a brotherly hug with Renji.

"Wassup Renji." Karin laughed. "And hi guys." Karin turned to Hisagi and Ikkaku.

"Hello pretty lady." Hisagi extended a hand to Karin for a handshake.

"Watch it." Ichigo folded his arms across his chest.

"All's good." Karin looked to her brother with a comforting smile before shaking Hisagi's hands.

"You play any sport Karin?" Ikkaku remained still with his hands in his pocket.

"I…used to." Karin replied. At once Ikkaku noticed the change in facial expression of Ichigo, Rukia and Orihime. Before he could ask why the sudden frozen faces, Hitsugaya made his move.

"Shall we make a move? Parking is hard to get at Mrs. Henry's." _Despite it being a shit place to eat at. _Hitsugaya thought.

Ichigo cleared his throat and reached into his jeans pocket for his car keys. "Right, let's get going."

* * *

Hitsugaya grumbled mentally for about ten minutes since they left. He had adopted the idea that he would be seated at the front with Ichigo since the girls would like to sit together and chat behind. However his hopes of spacing out at the front were banished along with him seated behind with Karin in between him and Rukia. Orihime had taken the front seat because she had problems with sitting at the back. It made her car sick.

He looked to the right to see Rukia busy chatting with Orihime while Ichigo was busy concentrating on the road. Next to him was Karin spacing out, deep in thought and unaware of her surroundings most likely. It puzzled him to see her so deep in though. What was she thinking? What were her thoughts? She seemed bothered but about what he had no clue.

"ICHIGO WATCH OUT!" Rukia shouted before Ichigo suddenly swerved to the left as an oncoming car drove into their lane.

Everyone went flying to the left only to be held back by his or her seatbelts except for Karin since she sat in the middle. Her upper body was thrown to the left onto Hitsugaya and just as Ichigo was about to apply the brakes, she felt a pair of strong arms quickly wrapped around her tight. The car mounted the curb and came to a sudden aggressive stop, jerking everyone forward.

For a few minutes, everyone remained silent, panting heavily in shock. Sweat trickled down Ichigo's forehead as he tried to recover from the near accident. Right now his legs had gone soft but his hands remained solid and tight clenched to the steering wheel. He turned to his left to see Orihime breathing heavily in her seat, her eyes widened with shock and terror.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo managed to muster his words together.

"Y-yeah…I'm okay…" Orihime shifted her gaze to Ichigo. He looked just as terrified as her.

"Did anyone by any chance happen to catch that license plate number?" Hitsugaya voice broke out of the silence.

"I didn't." Rukia answered, her hand plastered to her chest.

"Karin? Karin? Are you alright?"

Karin blinked several times at the sound of Hitsugaya's firm voice. She felt the pair of arms around her loosen. It was then it hit her that Hitsugaya had protected her by hugging onto her tight.

"I-I'm okay. I'm fine." Karin replied before slowly shifting herself loose. Normally she would have thought she would have gone completely red at the thought of Hitsugaya hugging her tightly but the shock that still rung through banished that emotion temporarily.

Suddenly the front car door flung open and out bolted Orihime to the pedestrian drain. She leaned over and pulled her long hair back from her face. A stream of vomit exploded from her lips. Ichigo quickly unbuckled his seat belt and raised the handbrake. He got out of the car and went over to Orihime. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a packet of tissue and patted her back as she coughed.

"Are you okay Inoue? I'm so sorry." He apologized. He pulled out a tissue and handed it over to Orihime. She took the tissue and wiped her mouth before she turned to face Ichigo with her eyes brimmed with tears.

"I'm better now. Don't worry, this should be normal if I get car sick very easily." Orihime took out another tissue and dabbed her lips and chin.

"I think my legs have gone soft." Rukia mentioned as placed her palms on her kneecaps.

* * *

"Hey what took you guys so long?" Ikkaku asked as the group with faces still drained of colour took their seat at the table.

"We nearly ended up in a car accident because of some drunk asshole." Rukia growled. Noticing her discomfort, Renji got up and pulled out a seat for her.

"Thanks," Rukia sat down. Renji pulled out a seat and sat down next to her. "Do you need a glass of water?"

"Yeah, I think I need one. I think make it a fizzy drink." Rukia changed her mind. Renji nodded and turned around to look for a waiter.

"How?" Hisagi asked as Ichigo helped Orihime take a seat.

"The bastard drove into our lane scaring the shit out of us. Ichigo had to swerve to the left and mount the curb onto the pedestrian walk in order to avoid hitting that car." Rukia sighed as Renji placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"That must have taken a beating out of your car." Ikkaku thought.

"Thanks Ikkaku for having more concern over my car instead of all of us." Ichigo said.

"Well you're here now." Ikkaku finished.

"Did you get his license number?" Hisagi asked.

"Nope, we couldn't." Ichigo replied and turned to Orihime. "Do you need something to drink?"

"I think a hot tea would do me some good." Orihime smiled, colour slowly returning to her cheeks. Ichigo nodded and turned to Karin.

"How about you Karin? You okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'm feeling awesome." Karin swallowed hard. "I wouldn't have been if Toushirou didn't grab me before you mounted the curb and slammed the brakes."

"Oh so that's why he was hugging you in the car. For a moment I thought otherwise." Rukia smirked. Hitsugaya's eyes immediately shot to her direction and froze over with a glare.

"Thanks Toushirou, I owe you one." Ichigo said as Hitsugaya took a seat next to Karin.

"Don't mention it." Hitsugaya reached for the menu. He passed one over to Karin and flipped opened his own.

"You know if your brother found out about this, he'll flip." Ikkaku pointed out.

"Yeah so keep your lid shut about it. If he knows, he'll never let me ride with you guys again." Rukia warned.

"You have a big brother? That must be nice." Orihime looked up from her menu.

"Her brother is a nobleman. He's filthy, filthy rich and she refuses to ride in her personal stretch limo to school everyday. Instead of that, she insists on riding with us. Tell her she's crazy." Hisagi said with envy.

"She's mental." Ikkaku agreed.

"Not mental at all. It gets tiring after awhile. You don't feel any normality." Rukia exasperated.

"Normality? Any one with our kind of background would give anything for your kind of lifestyle." Ikkaku pointed out.

"I bet Toushirou would even leap at the chance if offered, right Toushirour?" Ikkaku added on. Hitsugaya simply looked the other way at Ikkaku's question.

"Well his silence has no answer." Rukia folded her arms.

"All I'm trying to say is that you don't appreciate what we poor folks don't have. You get everything thrown to you on a silver platter but you constantly reject them." Ikkaku placed his hands up as a sign of final statement.

"And all I'm trying to say is that I like to have my friends with me and feel like I'm one of you, is that so much to ask for someone who grew up without a single friend prior to this school?" Rukia snapped. For a moment a stare down sparked off between the two before Renji decided it was enough.

"Alright I think that's enough." Renji pulled Rukia back a little. "Let's order."

"You decide what to order for me. I'm going to the bathroom." Rukia stood up and walked off. Everyone with the exception of Hitsugaya and Orihime turned to look at Ikkaku with a you-had-to look.

"I'm not the one with an attitude problem here. She's just as thick of an ice block." Ikkaku defended himself.

"Well you couldn't be a little less of an asshole, can you?" Renji sighed.

"I'm being frank, that's all."

* * *

Through the dinner Rukia remained silent. Renji knew what Ikkaku had said to her made her extremely upset but he could not blame Ikkaku for not knowing her history. It was not easy to have never known your parents, lost an older sister at a young age and live with her sister's husband as his adopted sister and hardly ever have the love and attention from him like a family gives. The distance her brother placed between him and her had made her unable to socialize with people easily because she had no knowledge or comfort to do so. It was only after she and Ichigo became friends that she was willing to open up to people more.

"Inoue-san, which class are you going to be in? Do you know?" Hisagi casually asked out of the silence.

"I'll get my schedule tomorrow morning at the office so right now, I have no clue." Orihime tore open a mustard packet.

"What about you Karin? Same thing?" Hisagi turned to Ichigo's little sister.

"I probably know which class I'm going to be in since they only offer one school activity module as an internship sign up. It's photography." Karin stirred her soup.

"That means you'll be in the same class as Toushirou." Hisagi said. "He's taking Photography as well."

Karin turned to Hitsugaya who seemed completely unfazed and uninterested. "You take Photography? Don't you have little time for that with rugby?"

"Being on the school's rugby team gives me an excuse to hand in assignments later. I got time." Hitsugaya simply said.

"Well good for you." Karin shrugged.

"Oh crap I just realized that I forgot to mention an important piece of information to two of you." Rukia finally spoke up. Hitsugaya and Karin turned to her, not sure what to expect from her.

"Mrs. Caroline isn't coming back due to personal family related issues so someone else will be taking over her Photography class."

"I can't think of any other teacher who can fill her place for two semesters." Hitsugaya thought out loud.

"None of the school staff are filling in. They got an outsider who happens to be living in town for a year for a project. She's agreed to take over."

"And who might that be?" Karin asked although she was sure the name would not matter.

"She's an upcoming world renown photographer but I keep forgetting her first name. I only remember her last name, Diaz." Rukia repeatedly tapped the teeth of her fork against her lips.

"Diaz? Is it a Jacqueline Diaz from New York?" Hitsugaya asked.

"That's right. Jacqueline Diaz. You know about her?" Rukia was surprised.

"I've come across some of her works. Impressive they really are." Hitsugaya commented.

"She's from New York? Lucky…I wish I could go there some day…" Karin drifted in thought.

"You should go back and check up on some of her works then." Rukia turned to Karin.

"Most definitely." Karin pulled out her iPhone and planted in a note to remind herself to check up on her new teacher.

As dinner continued on with a better light, Orihime noticed that despite his mafia look with his tattoos and all, Renji was a very sweet guy who has a real soft spot for Rukia. Orihime sighed as she watched Renji gave up a quarter of his burger to Rukia without the slightest hesitation. For someone so small, she had a big appetite.

_It must be nice…_Orihime thought. _…to have someone to look out for you. _She casually turned to Ichigo who was busy munching away at his fries. She reached out for her fries but realized her plate was empty. Just as she was about to retract her hand with a little disappointment that she had already finished her fries, a small fry was lifted up in front of her.

"Have some of mine." Ichigo smiled. He pushed his plate of fries to in-between him and Orihime. She took the fry from his hand and popped it in her mouth. She returned an appreciative smile before she popped in another piece of fry.

_It's nice._

_

* * *

_

**Hey guys...I'm terribly sorry this has been delayed for more than a month. Something very personal cropped up and I didn't get the time to come round and finish it. Well it was finished actually but I couldn't upload it to fanfiction for a week. I had this problem (not sure if anyone has encountered it though) before so I just had to wait it out. However after a week I decided to scrap it and redo it all over again. I'm much happier with this version than the previous although it did take me a good while to plan it out the way I like it to be. **

**Sorry if you might spot any grammatical or spelling errors. I'm terribly sleepy so I will miss out errors. **

**Please review so I'll know what your thoughts are. Thank you for reading! And please visit Jacqueline Diaz's myspace (go to my profile and look for her link on my bio. If you can't find it, look for her link on my DA)! She's got more fanart of Bleach that includes of some scenes which inspired me to do this plus a scene she recently drew out for me (TOTALLY LOVE IT). She's amazing so please go see her site and drool at her creativity. **

**Sorry once again. I am so so sorry!**


	4. Chapter 4

Hitsugaya laid on his bed for a good half an hour processing one thought after another. Dinner went on smoothly, nothing eventful happened thankfully. But something ticked inside him through the dinner. In actual fact, it was not something; it was someone that ticked him off.

Her grey eyes, jet-black hair, fair skin and slender fingers, Hitsugaya wiped his face with his hand. He hardly knew her and he was already fantasizing about her and him together. Sure he had fantasized about other girls before, it was only natural of males. But this was different with Karin. Those other girls, models on magazines, girls on the streets, they were just fantasies. Karin was different. She was real and right above him, most probably in the shower, or maybe already in bed doing whatever a girl does. Her actions, her talk, her laughter and her body all balled up into one were just intoxicating to him. He could hold her, in fact he had in the car and he wanted to do it again. He wanted to feel her skin on his, her hair on his neck, her presence around him, he wanted more than just what they were right now.

Hitsugaya squeezed his eyes tight. He had to banish such ludicrous thoughts and cast them far away from his mind. He and Karin had just met. If anything were to happen, it had to be slow and it had to be right.

He picked up his blackberry that sat next to him and checked for messages. One unread message…he clicked on it and read.

_How was your day? _

He raised his other hand and started to type back.

_Fine. Yours?_

Press send. Half a minute later…

_I'm okay.…She's not doing so well. _

Hitsugaya sighed and propped himself up till he sat upright. He folded his legs and bowed forward, his eyebrows scrunched up into knots of worry.

_How is she?_

Sent.

Received.

_Doctor just left about an hour ago. He says she could go anytime before spring ends. She doesn't have long Shirou-chan…and she keeps asking for you…_

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

_Tell her I'm coming.

* * *

_

Karin stepped into her bedroom and ruffled her wet hair with her bath towel. In a pair of light blue boxers and a red tank top, Karin casually walked over to her window to open it up to allow fresh air in.

'It's nearing midnight, surely the squirrels won't fancy going out so late?' Karin thought as she lifted the latch and slid the window across. A blast of cold air flowed into the room and sent chills down Karin's back. She hugged herself and looked out at the night sky. The stars were still visible. She liked stars. They were the most untouched by man and the most beautiful of nature. Large, mystical and beautiful, it reminded her of the days when her mother would make up stories of buzz light-year traveling through space fighting the evil emperor Zerg.

Suddenly she heard the balcony door below her open. Karin looked down and saw Hitsugaya step, all dressed up with his backpack slung over his shoulder, on his balcony. Before she could open her mouth to say hi, he grabbed his sneakers that were on the balcony and went back into his room. The slam of the balcony doors and the upset look on his face told Karin something was wrong. Her instincts told her he was heading out but to where?

Should she run out of her room and catch him, ask him what was wrong? Or she should she stay in her room and mind her own business? Why had she even considered the first option of running to him? He was not her boyfriend or lover. He was just someone she just met. Nothing more. And yet the mixture of emotions on his face worried her.

She turned to look at the time on her alarm clock. It was close to midnight. Where could he be running off to at that time of night?

* * *

Orihime had been at it for ten minutes. She had gotten the lock off fine but the locker was stuck shut tight. She yanked at the handle for ages but the locker door refused to open.

"Come on!" Orihime grunted. After one last attempt, Orihime let go of the lock and panted heavily. There was no way to open it and the janitor was nowhere in sight. It looked like she had to carry all her books in her bag for as long till she got her locker fixed. With a tired sigh, Orihime raised her heavy bag onto her back. She now had her timetable with class indications in her hand, she might as well head to class early and settle down.

It was finally the first day of school and she chose a comfortable pair of black jeans and a yellow off shoulder top. With a medium size school bag on her back and a timetable in her hands, Orihime made her way up the stairs to the third floor and looked around. She maneuvered her way through the crowd until she stopped at a door.

"3G. This looks about right." Orihime checked her papers again. She opened the door and stepped in.

"Inoue?"

Orihime turned to face that blazing orange hair at the back of the classroom accompanied with the sweet mafia looking friend. A smile easily pulled at her lips as Orihime made her way toward Ichigo and Renji who looked as equally pleased.

"Kurosaki-san." She smiled.

"Just Ichigo would do." Ichigo chuckled.

"Looks like we're going to be classmates." Orihime giggled.

"Looks like it." Ichigo leaned against his desk.

"Sit with us." Renji offered and pulled out a seat unoccupied by any student.

"Thank you Abarai-san." Orihime said.

"Same as Ichigo here, just Renji would do." Renji said as he took a seat with Orihime on his left and Ichigo on his right.

"How's your history?" Renji asked.

"Fair. My chemistry needs a bit of pulling up though." Orihime replied. She slid her backpack straps off her shoulders but accidentally let it plummet to the floor with a loud thud.

"Darn…." Orihime sighed.

"Are all your books in there?" Renji asked as Orihime bent down to pick her bag. Ichigo rounded Renji's table and took the bag from Orihime. He carefully placed it on her desk.

"Thank you. My locker door is shut tight and it wouldn't open no matter how hard I try to pull it open." Orihime said before she turned to thank Ichigo.

"What's your locker number?" Ichigo asked.

"2-U." Orihime answered.

"That's a shitty locker." Renji said. "I can't believe the school forgot to fix that. I had it before."

"Tell you what, during break we'll get you a new locker." Ichigo offered. Orihime blushed lightly and nodded.

"Well hello cutie."

All three turned to a guy dressed in a pair of extremely slack jeans, hippie looking shirt and a beanie on his head. He smelt like he drowned himself in coffee and had not shaved in days. His eyes roamed Orihime's body from head to toe before he stopped at her chest.

"What is your name?" He reached for Orihime's hand. Not wanting to be rude but also very weary, Orihime let him take her hand expecting a handshake. Before she could give him her name, he pulled the back of her hand to his lips and gave her a sloppy wet kiss.

Disgust flooded her face as she felt his wet lips on the back of her hand. Before she could react, Ichigo grabbed her arm and yanked it out of his hold. She felt a pair of hands pull her back as Ichigo stepped in front of her. She turned to see Renji who looked just as angry as Ichigo.

"You're asking for it." Ichigo grabbed the collar of his shirt into a fist hold.

"Apologize creep." Ichigo growled. "Before I force the apology out of you."

"Whoa, whoa there, no need to get violent." The man jeered. "You forget, Kurosaki, I can do what I like here."

"So can I." Ichigo threatened. "I won't ask you the third time. Apologize to her."

"First let me know her name then I'll consider." The guy placed his hand on Ichigo's hold on his collar and patted his fist lightly.

"Forget it." Ichigo's eyes hardened.

"What are you going to do huh?" The man laughed.

"Uh…Ichi-nii?"

Everyone turned to face Karin standing in the middle of the classroom. Karin looked from Renji to Orihime, to an angry Ichigo and then to the raggy guy in Ichigo's fist hold. She looked around and breathed a sigh that they were the only ones in class.

"A Professor Ukitake asked me to hand this to you since I was passing your class. It's your essay that he forgot to return back to you." Karin walked toward Ichigo and placed it on Orihime's desk.

"Well, well, Kurosaki's got a little sister. How nice." The guy smirked.

"Yeah so? We're not done here jerk." Ichigo snarled.

"What happened?" Karin turned to Renji and Orihime standing behind Ichigo.

"He took advantage of Orihime. He's a pervert and a sleaze ball." Renji frowned deeply. Karin turned back to the guy who was now eyeing her perversely.

"Let him go Ichi-nii, you'll get in trouble if anyone sees you holding him like this." Karin sighed and placed her hand on her brother's arm.

"Yeah listen to your younger sister. She seems to be more intelligent than you man." The man poked fun. Ichigo clenched his fist, ready to punch the man in the face when Orihime reached for his fist.

"Let it go Ichigo, it's not a big deal. Karin's right. No one has to get in trouble because of me. Please just let him go." Orihime begged. Ichigo wanted to resist, he wanted to teach the jerk a lesson but the look on Orihime's face forced him to let go. The guy dropped onto his feet and pulled at his shirt. He turned to Karin and gave her a smile.

"Thank you sweetheart. What's your na"-

_PIAK!_

"That's for calling me a sweetheart." Karin snarled. She raised her right foot and brought it down on the guy's foot hard.

"FUCK!" The guy dropped to the floor in pain. Renji burst out laughing as the guy curled and held onto his foot. Orihime looked distressed as the scene unfold while Ichigo looked roughly pleased.

"And that's for taking advantage of my friend. The name's Karin and don't fuck around with me cause I might be wearing heels next time. Got that pervert?" Karin placed her hands on her hips and stared down at the man howling in pain.

"Get lost." Ichigo growled. The guy scrambled to his feet and hobbled his way out of the classroom, bumped into chairs and students as they entered the classroom.

"First day at school, I've got nothing to lose." Karin dusted her hands.

"Okay class, settle down." A tall hairy man with long wavy and curly brown hair stepped into the classroom.

"All those that don't belong here, you better get to class. All those that belong here, well isn't it obvious?" He laughed. Karin giggled at the way the man spoke, like everyday was a relaxing day.

"That's Professor Kyouraku. Our Biology teacher." Renji said.

"Yeah like the man said, you better get to class." Ichigo ruffled Karin's hair. "Don't do that next time, it's so un-lady like."

"Yeah, Photography is up first. And how long have you known me?" Karin gave a lop sided smile before she pushed her brother's hand off her head and headed out of his class.

Through the lesson, Orihime could not help but thought back on the incident between the nameless guy and Ichigo. She was so sure if it were not for her and Karin, Ichigo would have hurt the student, even if the student deserved it. It was nice though, to have someone stick up for you. Back in her old school, she only had one friend that looked out for her but she moved not long after. It became difficult for Orihime because after her best friend left, no one stood up for her anymore.

Now, she had Ichigo…and everyone else. She drew a smiley face on her paper. She liked it here.

* * *

Karin stepped into her class and walked to her bag on her seat next to the window. It was only when she reached her bag did she realize it was moved one seat in front, in the second row. She turned to the student with a newspaper in hand raised up high. Irritated that someone casually just moved her stuff without her permission, her temper forced her hand to come down on the newspaper.

"Hey why did you…Toushirou?" Karin blinked at the teal eyes.

Hitsugaya stared at her with a deadpan expression. "What?" He asked.

"So it's you." Karin dropped her temper by a notch.

"No, I have a twin brother named Toushirou. I'm the other." Hitsugaya said sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, very funny. This is my seat." Karin placed her hands on her hips.

"No, it's mine. I always sit here." Hitsugaya said.

"Oh yeah, prove it. It's not like you got your name on the desk or seat." Karin challenged.

"Yeah I do." Hitsugaya pointed his finger behind his seat. Karin turned to look behind his seat and frowned. His name was on it, etched in the middle.

"For all I know you swapped chairs."

"Check the desk." Hitsugaya said calmly. Karin looked down on the desk and searched for his name. True enough his name was carved at the far top left corner of the desk.

"Fine." Karin crossed her hand above her chest and temperamentally sat on her chair. "I like that seat."

"So do I." Hitsugaya raised his newspaper back up.

"So where did you go last night?" Karin asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Asked Hitsugaya. Karin raised an eyebrow at him, his face blocked by the newspaper.

"Well it seems a little suspicious to have gone somewhere in the middle of the night…did you go…see a girlfriend…perhaps?" Karin tried to sound as innocent as possible.

"I don't have a girlfriend. I don't date." Hitsugaya turned to the next page.

"Ever?"

"Not yet."

Karin crossed her leg and shook her foot from left to right like a cat with its tail. "So where did you go off to then?"

"Do I have to actually tell you to mind your own business or can I do it psychically?" Hitsugaya said as he lowered his newspaper just in time to see her inquisitive gaze turned into an irritated one.

"So you're just going to be a jerk…fine then." Karin whirled her head back to the front.

"How did you know I left anyway?"

"I was at my window and I saw you grab your sneakers from your balcony. You looked prepared to go somewhere. And since you didn't deny earlier, you did go somewhere." Karin said refusing to turn back to face him.

Hitsugaya smirked.

"So you were _waiting_ for me to come out?" He lowered his newspaper onto his desk.

Karin felt her eyebrow twitch at the way he posed that question however she refused to turn around to answer him.

"I never said I was waiting for you. I just happened to look out of my window and you happened to have came out prepared to leave." Karin suppressed her temper.

"Oh really? Last time I caught you staring at me half naked." Hitsugaya grinned as her body tensed up at his tease.

"Surprised, was not staring, get that right in your head. And you didn't 'caught' me. I was not hiding." Karin blushed.

"You were awfully quiet." Hitsugaya leaned forward and rest his arms on his desk.

"Was surprised and thus was speechless." Karin scoffed.

"Doesn't sound so convincing to me."

"It's true."

"So turn around and tell it to my face."

Karin whipped her head around, her temper neared boiling point until she froze at how close his face was to hers. If anyone saw them from a distance, Hitsugaya looked smug with a grin on his face while Karin looked caught off guard with a bashful red shade on her cheeks. She gulped at the distance between them. His teal eyes were cold and deep, his hair so naturally white and his smile, god it made her knees feel like soft butter.

"Cat got your tongue?" Hitsugaya smirked.

"I-k-I, no. Stop being such a wise ass." Karin pulled her head back to place distance between them.

"I'm not being a wise ass."

"Tch, yeah you are." Karin rolled her eyes and turned back to face the font.

"Wise-ass."

"Excuse me!" Karin snapped and turned around. She was about to spit fire into his face when the bell rung loudly.

"God!" Karin squeezed her eyes shut.

"Everyone settle down." Came into the classroom was a plump lady in her late 50s dressed in a gaudy purple and yellow suit with large round glasses hanging down from her neck.

"Who's that?" Karin asked.

"Mrs. Lauren Mary Trouperman. She's English and she teaches English." Hitsugaya answered.

"She dresses funny." Karin muttered.

"Class, I am sure you are well aware that Mrs. Caroline won't be teaching you Photography for the year. We hope for an early return but for now, we are priviledged to have not only a substitute teacher but also a well known photographer. Please welcome Ms. Jacqueline Diaz." She clapped her hand.

A young lady walked into the classroom with a pair of black leg hugging jeans, high black heels and a dark blue vest top. Karin glanced around to see the guys in the class in awe by her exotic looks.

_She looks really pretty in person. _Karin thought. Last night she searched up on Jacqueline Diaz. She started out as a freelance model before she picked up Photography. She found love in being behind the lens than in front of it and her awe inspiring photography had grasped the world. Soon enough she became one of the highest paid photographers in the world.

"I expect you all to behave. I won't hesitate to come in here and correct any of you if I ever hear difficulties faced by Ms. Diaz. Is that understood?" Lauren tilted her head down and gave everyone the eye. The class remained quiet. Some nodded their heads.

"Good, Ms. Jacqueline, I shall leave them to you."

"Thank you." Jacqueline smiled and waited for Lauren to leave the classroom. Once Lauren had disappeared around the corner, Jacqueline reached for the door and gave it a shove to a close.

"Right, a few things you should know about me first." Jacqueline planted her backside on the teacher's desk.

"I hate essays so don't expect me to ask you to do essays on historic photography or what not."

A number of "Yes" were head around the class.

"I don't like boring lectures so I'll use these times to get to know you guys. I believe in learning first hand so all you need are your cameras and a partner." Jacqueline swung her left leg over her right leg and laced her fingers together over her left knee.

"Don't back sass me because my bark is worse than my bite."

A smile tugged at the side of Karin's lips. For some reason, she had a feeling she would enjoy being taught by Jacqueline. For one, she was not like any other teacher.

"I do allow students to eat in class so long you clean up after yourselves. And lastly, every week I'll hand you two assignments to complete and they are to be handed up on time. For every day you hand in late, you'll have to pay ten dollars and your money goes to charity. Fair?"

Everyone nodded their heads but remained silent.

"Good. Okay, first thing's first. Pick your partners. Remember, once you pick your partner, it's for the rest of the year. You can only change partner if you got a valid reason to do so and if I accept that reason. Get to it. You got thirty seconds." Jacqueline hopped off the table.

Suddenly Karin felt alien. She knew no one in the class except for Hitsugaya and she was not about to ask him. She looked around and everyone had already found his or her partners. She glanced over to see Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair with his newspaper held up in front of him.

"Aren't you going to find a partner?"

"I got one."

"Who?" Karin turned fully.

"Twenty seconds." Jacqueline chimed.

"You." Hitsugaya flipped to the second page.

"What? Why?" Karin grabbed the edge of her chair, her voice panicked.

"Because this is an even numbered class. Everyone has already found a partner except for the two of us so logically and basically, we are inevitable partners." Hitsugaya stoically replied her.

"That's not true. We can switch with others." Karin growled.

"With the limited time and the fact no one here are friends with you, I doubt so." Hitsugaya lowered his newspaper and folded it back up.

"Five, four, three two, one. Right, I want all of you to come up, write your names on the board and circle your name and your partner's name together." Jacqueline reached into her pocket and pulled out her blackberry.

"Hop to it." Jacqueline waved everyone to the front and headed to the back. She took a seat at a student's table and watched as everyone got up to the board and took turns to write their name. On her left she noticed two students still in their seats. They both exchanged a few irritation glares with each other before the girl got up from her seat and grabbed a marker from the teacher's desk. The guy sighed and got up from his seat. He walked up behind her and bumped into the girl as she turned back with her name written on the board.

"Here." She huffed and smacked the marker in his palm. Jacqueline smirked as the student wrote his name and circled his name and the girl's together.

"Right, clear the path in front of me." Jacqueline raised her blackberry up and took a snap shot of the white board.

"Cool. Okay go grab a five-minute toilet break. I need a coffee." Jacqueline saved her picture.

"But Ms. Diaz, you haven't taken our attendance yet." A student asked.

"I split my coffee on my student name sheet this morning. This is quicker." Jacqueline smiled and got up.

* * *

**It's 3am in the morning and boy I need some sleep. Please ignore any spelling errors. I've corrected some, and some grammatical errors but not all. **

**Anyway I think I should head to bed. Don't worry, How do you explain us is under progress of being updated. :) thanks for your messages of asking, I really appreciate it. **

**Goodnight everyone, I should nod off now. Please review and leave your comments. I really will like to hear your thoughts. :}**


	5. Chapter 5

Jacqueline tasted her coffee and cringed. When she thought coffee could not get screwed up in any way, she was just proven wrong. She tipped the styrofoam cup into the sink next to the coffee vending machine and watched the liquid drain.

"You should just make your own coffee in the pantry. It's better than that crap from the vending machine."

Jacqueline turned around to face a tall man in a pair of straight cut jeans and dark green fitting shirt. He had short brown hair and one of the most handsome dark green eyes she had ever seen.

She laughed. "Lesson learned. I'm Jacqueline, guest teacher for the year."

"I'm Skye, Chemistry teacher. So you're the photography teacher Lauren is raving about."

Jacqueline nodded her head.

"Here, let me help you get a proper drink of coffee." Skype offered and walked toward the pantry. He bent down and pulled out a bottle of coffee powder and sugar. He turned behind and opened the fridge.

Jacqueline found herself gapping while her eyes were roving around his physique. He was not very muscular but she could tell he worked out to keep in shape. He was tall and slender, had a nice frame and she admitted, he was very handsome.

She watched him closed the fridge door and settle a jar of condense milk on the counter.

_Most probably taken. _She doused her hopes.

He reached for the rack near the sink and took out two mugs.

"How do you want your coffee?

"White with Sugar please." Jacqueline leaned over the counter opposite him.

"Do you have a class now?" Skype opened the lid of the bottle and scooped out a teaspoon of coffee.

"Yeah, but we're on a five minute break."

"You just started class."

"Yeah…but I hate to start my day without a proper dose of good coffee."

"So do I." Skype grinned. He filled the cup with hot water and stirred the coffee.

"Here." He gave the mug a gentle push to Jacqueline.

She picked it up and took in the aroma of coffee. She cautiously took a sip of it and sighed.

"Oh this is so good." Jacqueline licked her lips.

"It baffles me why some teachers resort to crap coffee to start their day. Sometimes I think that is why some lot of them are always crabby." Skype poured some hot water into his cup of coffee powder, sugar and condense milk.

"Well at least now I know who to look for to have a good coffee with me." Jacqueline giggled.

"Who?" Skype looked around with a playful smile. Jacqueline laughed and took a quick glance at her watch.

"Crap I need to get back to class." She grumbled.

"Just be thankful you're not in charge of introducing new chemistry. I might not be here tomorrow." Skye laughed.

"I hate to be you." Jacqueline took another sip of her coffee.

"Take the mug with you." Skye rest his elbows on the counter.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I always do that. Just return it to the pantry and wash it when you're done with it."

"Thanks. I'll see you around Skye." Jacqueline picked up her coffee and made her way to the door.

"Definitely." And he watched the exotic beauty exit the door.

_Someone that beautiful? Obviously taken_. He shook his head.

* * *

"So you fold it like this and there you go, a swan." Rukia raised up a perfectly shaped swan origami in her palm. Orihime's eyes widened and her lips curved into a smile. School had ended for the day and the two met up to watch the guys practice.

"That is so pretty!" Orihime took the swan from Rukia's palm and studied it. She had never seen someone make an origami before, except on youtube. She had tried to do it before but she could never get it right.

"Keep it. I have plenty at home and in our apartment." Rukia raised her legs onto the seat and folded it. She looked out at the large field before them. It was going to be flooded with ball tosses and body slams in a matter of minutes.

"Does anyone else here know to do this?" Orihime tried to balance the swan on the tip of her finger.

"Toushirou might. I've seen him done a crane once before." Rukia shrugged.

"Oh did you see Karin earlier?" Orihime rest the swan origami on her lap.

"No, why?"

"She looked really upset during lunch and I don't think it was because of that…pervert."

"Oh…he must have pissed her off." Rukia smirked.

"Who? The pervert?"

"No. Toushirou."

Orihime gave her a quizzical look. "How do you know?"

"Well for starters Karin knows no one in her class cause it is the first day of school and the only guy with enough attitude to piss off someone like Karin is Toushirou." Rukia laughed.

"What did he do wrong?"

"It is more like what he normally does." Rukia sighed and pushed up her long sleeves.

"Sorry I don't follow."

"On the surface, people will think he's difficult but actually, he is pretty easy. He just likes his space. And if you know him better, he is actually a really nice and caring guy."

"Who's a nice and caring guy?" Renji stepped onto the bench stands in his training gear.

"Toushirou." Rukia folded her arms.

"Okay…I'm not going to ask why you think so." Renji dumped his bag next to Rukia.

"Why do every single one of you except Ichigo say that? Some kind of friends you guys are." Rukia huffed.

"No, no, he's a good guy that's why we're friends with him. But nice and caring is a bit too straight forward for Toushirou. He's got issues."

"What do you think Orihime?" Rukia turned to Orihime.

"I think he's alright." Orihime gave a neutral answer.

"Why are you guys talking about him anyway?" Renji asked as he pulled out his shoe bag from his duffle bag.

"He must have pissed Karin off today during Photography class." Rukia gave a one laugh.

"Oh…well now we know what she thinks of him." Renji laughed and wore on his shoes.

"Hey guys, it's free and easy today. Coach won't be around today so Ichigo's in charge of training." Ikkaku came up to the stands and dropped his bag a row in front of Rukia and Orihime. Ichigo and Hisagi stepped onto the stands and dropped their bags next to Ikkaku's. Ichigo turned around as the guys settled their stuff.

"Listen up, you know the warm up drill. Be down on the field in five minutes. Six rounds around the track for warm up and then we hit straight for the dummies." Ichigo shouted before he returned to take out his shoes from his bag.

"Hey." Orihime blushed. Ichigo returned a warm smile and noticed a swan origami on her lap.

"You made that?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh no, Rukia did. I am terribly at this. She's very good." Orihime picked up the swan.

"Nice to have someone who appreciates this kind of art." Rukia raised her head up high.

"The only thing I can come close to folding paper is making paper stars but that's thanks to Karin. She taught me how." Ichigo took the swan from Orihime and examined it.

"Did you see her at lunch today? Sorry I had to rush off to the office. Admin stuff for Karin." Ichigo returned the swan.

"Yeah I did."

"How was she?"

"Um…she's-"

"She's fine. You know…first day of school and all." Rukia interjected.

"Oh. Well good to hear. Alright guys, let's go!" Ichigo clapped his hand and stepped down off the stands.

"Catch you later." Renji gave a soft pat on Rukia's arm before he got off the stands. Rukia smiled as she watched Renji jog over to the track.

Orihime turned to Rukia only to catch her smiling to herself. She grinned.

"So you and Renji?" She gently nudged Rukia.

Rukia blinked.

"No!" Rukia exclaimed only to earn from Orihime a come-on look.

"We've been friends for a long time…we're just closer than normal friends." Rukia defended.

"He looks at you differently."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…he just has that look in his eyes when he looks at you. I think he likes you."

"That's…preposterous. Why would a guy like him go for a girl like me?" Rukia shrugged.

"Why do you say that?" Orihime placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm the most sociably awkward person and he's everyone's friend."

"You're talking to me." Orihime gave a kind smile.

"You're special." Rukia returned a smile.

"Oh yeah, why didn't you want to let Ichigo know about Karin and Toushirou?"

"Cause I don't want Ichigo to interrogate Toushirou and Renji won't say a word to Ichigo about it." Rukia explained.

"Gotcha." Orihime smiled and looked on. Then she realized that someone was missing.

"Where's Toushirou?" She turned to Rukia.

"He'll be ending class in about fifteen minutes." Rukia glanced at her watch and raised her legs up to rest on the seat in front of her.

* * *

Karin bopped her head to the beat of California Gurls, her earplugs pressed deep into her ear. She opened her locker and threw her textbooks in while the rest that she needed for assignments remained in her bag. Suddenly she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around and the first thing she took notice was the girl's large round glasses and freckles on her tanned face. She paused her iPhone and took out her earplugs from her ears.

"Hi?" Karin asked.

"Sorry, this seems weird but you were singing." She smiled.

"Oh was I? I didn't notice. I tend to do that…sing without knowing I am." Karin laughed nervously.

"Well you're really good, like really, really good. Katy Perry right?"

"Yeah, I love her. She's awesome." Karin smiled. "Oh my name's Karin."

"I'm Suki. I'm the head of the Theatre Department and we're holding an audition for the leading part of our school's spring short musical. It would be really cool if you can come and give a shot at the audition that is if you're interested. Do you play any musical instruments?"

"I play the guitar." Karin smiled.

"That's even better. Well, do come and audition. It's just a short musical for the spring festival."

"Cool, what time?"

"Tomorrow after school. Auditions the whole day cause us seniors in the theatre department have off the whole day." Suki giggled.

"Lucky." Karin laughed.

"I know, right? Catch you later Karin! Oh, hey Hitsugaya-san."

Karin withheld a laugh as she watched the head of theatre department blush and gush like a fan girl as she passed Hitsugaya dressed in his training attire.

"Hey." He replied stoically and head straight to his locker two lockers down from Karin.

Karin waited for Suki to disappear around the corner before she turned to her left.

"Care to explain that?" Karin grinned.

"Explain what?" Hitsugaya opened his locker and took out his shoe bag.

"That. Looks like someone has a crush on you, and a senior no doubt." Karin smirked.

"Whatever you say Kurosaki." Hitsugaya sighed and bent down to untie his shoelace.

"Don't you even care?" Karin asked.

"Is there a need to?" He sat on the floor and pulled off his shoes.

"You have issues." Karin watched him wore on his training shoes.

"Sue me." Hitsugaya said flatly and tied his shoelaces. He got up and closed his locker door.

"I can't because you're my partner." Karin rolled her eyes and closed her locker door.

Hitsugaya got up and picked up his shoe bag. The two started to walk together down the corridor when Hitsugaya stopped and looked at Karin.

"Why are you following me?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I'm going to join your practice." Karin gave a wry smile.

He stared at her blankly.

"I'm watching my brother play…geez…" Karin sighed.

"Wonderful…"

The two walked in silence to the end of the corridor and exited the building onto the track. In the middle of the field were Ichigo and his team tackling dummies one at a time.

"Put some back into it." Karin heard Ikkaku yell. She followed Hitsugaya to the stands where she saw Orihime doodling and Rukia sleeping.

Orihime reached for her eraser from her stationery case. She glanced down and laughed. Next to her lying on the bench was Rukia snoozing.

"How can you sleep in all this noise?" Orihime muttered and resumed to her drawing.

"Hey! Oh, Kuchiki's asleep." Karin cocked her head to the side and took a seat behind Orihime.

"Hey Karin, Toushirou!" Orihime smiled. She flipped her sketchbook cover back to the front and kept her stationery.

Hitsugaya dumped his bags next to Karin and took out his blackberry from his pocket. He checked for messages.

Zero messages.

"How was first day?" Karin asked.

As the girls chatted, Hitsugaya looked down at Rukia. He looked over to Karin and pressed the scrolling button on his phone. He sighed.

"Karin, if my phone rings, check the caller ID. If it says Momo or Gran Home, answer it and call me back here no matter what. It's important." Hitsugaya said firmly. Karin stared at him a little confused.

"Yeah…sure. Can I ask why?" Karin looked at the phone.

"No, just please do as I ask. Please."

"Alright, alright since you said please." Karin took the phone from him.

"Thanks, I owe you." Hitsugaya took off.

"Well…that's new." Karin shrugged.

_Whose Momo?_

_

* * *

_

A good hour passed and Karin soon found herself very bored. She had been listening to music and playing games on her phone but there was still two more hours to the practice. She could go home on her own if not for agreeing to have dinner with Ichigo and the rest. She looked over Orihime's shoulder, curious as to what she was sketching for the past hour.

"Is that my brother?" Karin asked.

"Um…yeah it is." Orihime blushed.

"Hey you're really good." Karin studied the drawing. There was a drawing of her brother holding onto the rugby ball dodging a tackle.

"I took art as one of my classes. Still am." Orihime smiled.

Just as Karin was about to comment further, the sound of loud cheers and shouts were heard. The two girls turned to their left to see a group of cheerleaders approach the field.

"Not again." She heard one of them whined.

"Who keeps screwing up our booking?" The other complained.

"Calm down girls." The one with large breasts, long golden hair and a lollipop in her mouth patted one their heads.

"Taicho?" She asked a tall tanned girl with striking purple hair tied up into a high ponytail.

"Gimme a sec. ICHIGO!" The girl yelled.

Normally Karin would have immediately associated cheerleaders with arrogant dumb bells but for some reason, these girls don't look those sorts. Their top had a white cool skull print on the front while the rest of their uniform was black and red. Their captain, Karin assumed to be the one with purple hair, jogged over to where Ichigo was.

"Hnn, what's going on?" Rukia finally woke up.

"Yoruichi-san?" Ichigo panted. He turned to the rest and raised his hand.

"Take five guys."

"Yo Ichigo, I booked the field today." Yoruichi crossed her arm.

"Why? You know we have practice every Monday, Wednesday and Friday."

"But the office told us that you're practice was cancelled today." Yoruichi cocked her head to the side.

"I think they made a mistake. Practice is still on but our coach is not here today. I'm leading the practice." Ichigo explained.

"Fuck. I really wanted to do our routine out doors." Yoruichi snapped her fingers.

"Can't you do it indoors?"

"I promised the girls the field today. Last month we've been in the gym the whole time because of the rain. Now that there's some sun, I took the opportunity." Yoruichi sighed.

Ichigo sighed. Although his sport had priority over the field, he did felt bad for them. The girls had been stuck in the gym for the whole of last month because the field was too wet and unsafe for them.

"Umm…tell you what, we'll clear half the field for you." Ichigo sighed.

"I guess we'll have to deal with that." Yoruichi placed her hands on her hips. She turned to the stands and waved to Rukia.

"Ichigo, who are those two other girls with Rukia?"

"The one sitting behind Rukia is my sister and the other is Orihime, new girl and Rukia's apartment mate along with my sister." Ichigo wiped his sweat away from his eyebrows.

"That's your sister? She's beautiful. You never told me you had a sister."

"You never asked."

"The other girl, Orihime, is it? She's got hell of a rack like Matsumoto." Yoruichi commented.

"This isn't something to say in front of a guy!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Hollows! Let's go!" Yoruichi commanded.

As the girls walked past the guys to the back end of the field, Karin noticed Hisagi wrap his arms around one of the girl's waist, more specifically the one with large breasts. He leaned in for a kiss but all he got was a kiss with her palm. She gave a firm shove and continued on her way to join the rest of the cheerleaders.

"Who's that?" Karin leaned closer to Rukia.

"That girl who just shoved Hisagi is Matsumoto Rangiku. She's the vice-captain of the squad and Hisagi's girlfriend. I'm sure you already know which one is the captain."

"The one with the cool purple hair."

"Yep, she's Yoruichi Shihouin."

"You know her?" Orihime turned to Rukia.

"My brother does business with her family."

"Their attire looks freaking cool. I would be lying if I said I didn't wish I had their uniform." Karin said.

"Are they any good?" Orihime asked.

"Ever since Yoruichi and Matsumoto took over, they've been the best Japan has. They came in third in the world cheerleading competition." Rukia smiled.

"Whoa, that's impressive." Karin exclaimed.

"You guys cheered before?" Rukia asked.

"I don't cheer." Karin raised her hands up.

"I used to be in gymnastics." Orihime stated.

"Well our school has no gymnastics. Cheerleading is as close as you are going to get to doing gymnastics." Rukia shrugged.

* * *

Hitsugaya ran his fingers through his hair and frowned. The sun glared down harshly on the field and his mind screamed for a cold shower right now. Shorts stained with soil and grass, Hitsugaya grunted and rubbed his neck.

"Going to refresh." Hitsugaya shouted out to Ichigo. He headed over to the stands and as he neared, he noticed someone was missing. Where was Karin?

He looked around the field but she was nowhere in sight.

"Something wrong?" Rukia noticed Hitsugaya's wandering eyes, like he was searching for something.

"No, nothing. Where did Ms. Spitfire go to?" Hitsugaya walked up the steps and approached his bag.

"She went to check out the sports equipment shed."

"Check out? For what?"

"She never said."

It was then Hitsugaya finally spotted Karin exit the sports shed with a ball in her hand.

What was she doing with the school's football? Hitsugaya watched her start to bounce the ball on her knees alternatively like she was a pro footballer.

He smiled when she smiled.

"She used to be Head Captain of her Football Club in school." Rukia smirked at Hitsugaya's amused expression.

"She was really good."

"I bet she still is." Hitsugaya reached for his water bottle.

"Why did you piss her off today?" Rukia leaned forward.

"I did?"

"I can't be wrong. And you did call her Ms. Spitfire."

"She is one."

Rukia eyed Hitsugaya and smiled. He stared back at her.

"Fine," he sighed. He took a gulp of water and threw his bottle back in his bag.

* * *

"So when are you going to ask her out?" Ikkaku dug his heel into the soil and prepared himself as Hisagi charged toward the dummy and him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo eyed Ikkaku.

"We're not blind you know. She's a babe right?" Ikkaku ended his sentence with an "OOUFF" as Hisagi tackled the dummy.

Ichigo glared. "Your point?"

"Ask her out before anyone else does." Ikkaku panted. He got up and dropped the dummy on the grass.

"What makes you think I want to ask her out?" Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Since you've never really talked to other girls other than Rukia, Youruichi-san and Matsumoto." Hisagi got up from the ground.

"That's ridiculous."

"No it's not." Ikkaku rubbed his baldhead.

"They are my friends, of course I talk to them?" Ichigo argued.

"But when was the last time you went out on a date?" Hisagi asked.

Ichigo opened his mouth to answer back when he realized he had no answer to that.

"Precisely." Hisagi crossed his arm.

"Look, this doesn't concern you." Ichigo laughed it off with a frown.

"We know but we're going to be concerned."

"Why?"

"Because we're assholes." Ikkaku grinned.

"I know that." Ichigo gave a half laugh.

"We warned you." Hisagi shrugged. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him. What did he mean by that?

* * *

The day had come to an end and Karin was ready to curl up in bed with a new comic book she bought while at dinner. In her Garfield printed white loose pants and white tank top, Karin exited her room and headed into the kitchen. She pulled open the fridge door and bent down. She pulled out a carton of milk and placed it on the counter. Just as she was about to reach for the cabinet door, the apartment bell rung.

Karin made her way to the door and looked through the peephole.

_Toushirou? _Karin blinked. She unlatched the door lock and opened it.

There he was standing in front of her dressed in a pair of beige shorts and dark blue loose shirt with the imprinted word "SURFS UP" on the front.

It was then she suddenly felt a bit too self-conscious over her Garfield pants.

"Hey," Hitsugaya greeted before he gave a glance at her pants.

"Nice pants."

"Um, thanks." Karin bit her lip. "I love Garfield."

"I can see that."

"You want to come in?" Karin stepped aside. Hitsugaya entered the apartment and took off his shoes.

"I don't mean this in the wrong way but why are you here?" Karin walked back into the kitchen and opened the cabinet door.

Hitsugaya watched her bent down and reached inside the cabinet.

"I came here to say I'm sorry…to you." Hitsugaya sighed.

Karin stood up and stared at him blankly.

"For this morning?" Hitsugaya said.

"Oh. Right. You were an asshole. Sorry asshole moments dissipate from my memory very quickly. They waste too much space in my head." Karin placed a glass cup on the counter, looked back up at him and smiled.

"Good. So we're okay then?"

"You're an idiot but I can live with that. " Kari uncapped the milk and poured the milk into the empty glass.

Hitsugaya frowned at her. "Thanks." He said dryly.

"Thank my dad. Living with him has made me tolerable with all kind of idiots."

A slight chuckle escaped from Hitsugaya's lips.

"What?" Karin lifted the glass to her lips.

"Nothing."

"No, you chuckled. Was it something I said?" Karin giggled.

"The remark about idiots and your dad. It was funny." Hitsugaya gave a faint smile.

"You should smile more often."

"Why?"

"Because I like it when you smile." Karin blushed.

* * *

Ichigo flipped through his chemistry textbook and pressed the back of his pen against his forehead. He looked up at the television and reached for the remote.

"Yo Ichigo." Ikkaku called out.

"Out here." Ichigo changed channel again till he stopped at National Geographic. He turned to see Ikkaku enter the living room with a strange grin on his face.

Something was up.

"What is it?" Ichigo turned back to his textbook.

"When are you going to ask Orihime out?" Ikkaku leaned against the wall.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Will you ask her out?"

"Maybe, yes, no? I hardly know her and even if I get to know her, I don't think I have the time to go on a date." Ichigo exasperated.

"I thought you might say that. Okay guys, bring in the weapons," Ikkaku smirked. Ichigo looked up from his textbook to see Renji and Hisagi enter the living room with magazines in their hands…his special magazines.

"What the hell are you doing with my stuff?" Ichigo scowled.

"Ask Orihime out on a date and we won't let these babies loose in the girls' locker room with your name written all over it." Renji grinned.

Ichigo stared at them in disbelief. "You wouldn't."

"Try us." Hisagi challenged.

"Come one…" Ichigo tilted his head back and sighed. This was not happening to him. He was about to be blackmailed by his own apartment mates.

"I got better things to do." Ichigo returned his attention to his textbook.

"Like?"

"Studying for one." Ichigo answered.

"One date is not going to kill you." Hisagi waved the magazine around.

"But I can't say these magazines won't be the death of you." Hisagi smirked.

"What will Orihime think?" Renji mocked. Ichigo snapped his attention to the three of them. He frowned. He got up from the couch and gathered his textbooks from the coffee table.

"Fuck you, you, and you." Ichigo cursed at each one as he passed them.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Ikkaku jeered.

"What the fuck do you think it is? Yes." Ichigo entered his room and shut the door behind him.

"You got till end of tomorrow to ask her. Told you this would work."

* * *

**Hey guys, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the grammar mistakes or spelling errors. I am close to falling off my chair because I am so darn sleepy. I notice I tend to write all my fanfics at night thus all these errors...but I can't seem to write in the day. Oh well...I'm going to hit the hay. **

**Please post your reviews, I want to know what you think. :) Thank you so much!**

**And yes, Jacqueline is getting a little romance too *wink* *wink***

**Goodnight!**

**ps. How Do You Explain Us is still under progress. Please don't worry, I am not going to stop updating it. I'm just a little stuck on it at the moment. So until I get over this stuck problem, I'll continue with MMH (Meet me halfway). Please be patient! *Begs* :S **


	6. Chapter 6

Hitsugaya pushed the moped under the roof of the large hanger that stood like a giant before him. Used to be an old plane hanger, now it was lined with motorbikes, both new and old. Behind the hanger was a great view of the sky overlooking the town below. It was a great view during sunsets, especially having the hanger situated at the top of the hill. He took a quick glance at his wristwatch before he looked back up to greet the slack figure approach him.

"Whoo it is hot today!" The man pulled out a fan from his back pocket and opened it up. He tipped his hat lower while he fanned himself.

"Urahara-san, I got only half an hour to spare." Hitsugaya flexed his shoulder and found relief under the shade of the hanger. He unclipped the latch of the helmet under his chin and pulled the helmet off.

"Sorry to have to rush this." Hitsugaya tucked his helmet under his arm.

"No rush, no rush. Come, he's ready." Urahara smiled. Hitsugaya left the moped in the middle of the hanger and followed Urahara into an extended wing of the hanger.

Urahara reached for his cane resting on a stand at the entrance of the extension wing. Hitsugaya looked around but all he saw were motorcycles hidden under sheets.

"Over here." Urahara waved Hitsugaya over and pointed the end of his cane at the last motorcycle under the sheet.

"I just finished touching up last night. I have to say I'm pretty darn proud of it. My best work yet." Urahara poked the end of his cane under the sheets and with one swift pull; the sheets flew into the air and settled behind the two of them. Before Hitsugaya was a nearly perfect replica of a blue ninja motorbike coated in metallic dark blue.

"Like it?" Urahara smiled at Hitsugaya approached the bike and rest his hand on the handle.

"It looks good." Hitsugaya knew better than to inflate his ego too much. He was warned before.

"Aww, I deserve more praise than that." Urahara whined.

"Your girlfriend warned me." Hitsugaya reminded. He rolled the bike out into the middle of the wing and inspected it. He rounded the bike several times before bending down on one knee. His fingers ran over the metal body of the bike.

"I took the liberty of getting you matching helmets."

Hitsugaya looked up to see a helmet in Urahara's hands, his cane hanging on his arm.

"It's on the house." Urahara gave a kind smile. Hitsugaya eyed the helmets and looked back up at Urahara.

"She asked you to get it for me didn't she?" Hitsugaya lifted an eyebrow.

"She? Naww…" Before Urahara could continue, a familiar voice grabbed their attention.

"Oh shut up Kisuke, you wanted to give him a pink helmet."

Urahara smiled sheepishly as his girlfriend appeared at the entrance of the wing.

Youruichi sighed at her boyfriend. When would he ever learn? She approached them in a pair of three quarter torn jeans and a white tube top. Her long purple hair cascaded down till her butt while her tube top bared her firm stomach.

Hitsugaya looked over at Urahara who eyed her mid drift. Youruichi a year younger than Urahara but he, being a prodigy since young, graduated much earlier. Sad to say his genius brain was put to fixing motorbikes. Then again, Urahara was never one for anything that demanded a lot from him. He was a slack kind of guy with an easy kind of life. At least he earned a good income. He was the best man to go to for motorcycles.

"Afternoon Youruichi," Hitsugaya greeted. She smiled and yawned back.

"I picked the helmets out for you." She took the helmet from Urahara's hands.

"I thought so." Hitsugaya said. "How much do I owe you then?"

"Urahara is paying for it. He lost a bet." Youruichi smirked at her boyfriend. He pouted but it quickly disappeared when he turned to Hitsugaya.

"What did you bet on?" Hitsugaya asked out of curiosity. Youruichi leaned against Urahara, her face and smile told Hitsugaya basically everything.

"I don't need to know." Hitsugaya gave a slight shudder. Youruichi chuckled and rounded the bike.

"Lets him hear." She said. Hitsugaya nodded and got on the bike. Youruichi passed him the keys. As soon as he started the bike up, it felt like a dragon had awakened. It started as a deep growl before going into a monster purr. When Hitsugaya turned the handles, the bike roared into life.

"He sounds good." Hitsugaya patted the bike. As far as his stoic face would reveal, he could not wait to get his new mode of transportation on the road back to school.

"What do you want us to do with the moped?" Urahara asked.

"I'll come by and give it a new paint job." Hitsugaya answered.

"Why not let us do it? We won't charge." Youruichi asked. Although she had not known Hitsugaya for long, there was a deep mutual respect they had for each other and she knew he was a good guy. If she could be a saint for a day, might as well be a saint to one for her whole life. Good deeds means good Karma right?

"I owe it to Hinamori for letting me use it for awhile. Kira had to send her back and forth everyday." Hitsugaya wore on the helmet. Once he securely fastened his helmet, he turned back to two couple.

"See you at school Youruichi. See you later Urahara-san." And he drove out from under the wing shed.

Youruichi sighed and watched Hitsugaya speed off. She tucked four fingers into her jeans pocket and tilted her head up to see Urahara.

"Come on honey, we're not done yet." She smirked.

"Round two?" Happiness exploded on his face.

"I'm feeling very generous today." And she pulled him back into the main hanger.

* * *

Ichigo sat on a stone bench and watched Orihime diagonally across him. There she sat on a tree stump, earplugs in her ears, sketchpad in her hands and her eyes focused on the paper before her. She wore a turquoise skirt down to her knees and a short sleeve white blouse. Her orange hair was put into a messy bun and her hand gingerly smoothed lightly over the paper. The sunglow on her orange hair made her look like an angel. Ichigo shook his head. An angel? He needed his head checked. When was the last time he thought of any girl to look like an angel? Never.

Ichigo glanced at his watch. It was already five pm and he had till midnight to ask her out. But would his team do that to him? He thought about it for a while. Earlier he went to get his watch from his locker when he found a note slipped in. It said, "tick, tick, tick."

Yeah, they would.

"What the heck…" Ichigo sighed. Even though it hurt to risk jeopardizing his friendship, at least once and for all he would settle the question in his heart. Would she go out with him at all?

Ichigo approached her but it became clear his presence was not noticed. She had shifted her back to face Ichigo, earplugs in her ears. He looked over her shoulder and peeked at her sketch. His eyes widened. Suddenly a pair of brow eyes made eye contact with him. Orihime yelped in shock and was on the verge of falling over the tree stump when Ichigo reached out for her arm and yanked her back. But in his attempt to save her, his own clumsiness contributed to the sadistic side of gravity.

Air whooshed out of lungs. Ichigo felt the grass between his fingers and two large bumps against his chest. He opened his eyes and immediately knew what he was lying on.

"Can't…breathe!" Orihime struggled. Ichigo quickly alleviated himself but remained above Orihime on all four. He was about to get off her when he froze at the sight beneath him. Her hair was sprawled out onto the grass, her skirt rode up to her thighs and her hands on the grass above her head. Anyone could fall in love with this sight, Ichigo thought. _With her…_

"I am so sorry Inoue! I really didn't mean to let this happen." Ichigo quickly apologized before Orihime caught him gazing at her. He got up and knelt down beside her as Orihime sat up, her hair with two leaves sticking out from it. Ichigo bit back a chuckle at the funny sight of her hair. He reached for her sketch book beside him and passed it to her. He gave another glance at her art.

"Is that really me?" Ichigo almost embarrassed to ask. He swore her cheeks flushed immediately at his question and she turned away to look for her pen.

"Uh, yes, I like drawing." Orihime laughed nervously and a look of SHIT smacked on her face. Thank god she was looking the other way and her hair curtained her face. She patted the grass for her pencil and gave an "ah-hah" when she found it.

"It's very good." Ichigo pulled her up. Orihime smiled but wondered if he was being nice. The moment her left foot straightened, she hissed. Ichigo took a step closer and concerned replaced his smile.

"What's wrong?" He asked, holding her hands tight. The two of them looked down to see scratches on her ankle with blood tricking down from it.

"Must have scratched against the bark of the tree, or what's left of it." Orihime sighed.

"I'm so sorry again. I really didn't mean for this to happen." Ichigo felt like slapping him for having hurt her.

"Stop apologizing." Orihime smiled. "It's an accident. Just a rinse, cream and plaster will do the trick. Does the school book shop sell?"

"No, you'll have to cross the street to get it. We can either get it there or there's a first aid kit at the apartment, that is if you're planning to head back now."

Orihime thought for a while. There was not real need for her to stay out. Plus she would be able to hitch a ride back instead of taking the shuttle bus. And he would be with her. The last thought sold it.

"Why not?" She smiled.

* * *

Karin tapped her foot lightly against the wooden flooring of the stage. It had been an hour since her audition and everyone that came to try out were asked to stay back. She looked around and there were about twenty people who came to audition for a part in Musical Hercules. It was definitely different from what she liked to do in Karakura, play football.

"What part are you going for?" A girl came up from behind Karin.

Karin turned around to face heart shaped face of a girl who looked like she came out of a pin up poster. Her lips were in a deep shade of red and her auburn hair was in beautiful waves. Her green eyes stood out like emeralds and her sultry eyes could sway any man to his knees.

"Um, I guess any part would be great." Karin shrugged. Obviously she had no idea what part she wanted to go for. Partly she came because she had nothing better to do and the other part was she wanted to see if she could really get a part with her voice.

"I'm trying for Megan." She smiled and lifted her chin a little higher. Immediately Karin felt smaller than her. She was way beautiful and obviously she had a talent in singing.

"That's nice. Oh, I'm Karin by the way, Kurosaki Karin." Karin extended her hand for a shake.

"Kori. Kori Noriko." The girl shook Karin's hand before she stopped.

"Kurosaki? As in the Quarterback Captain Kurosaki?" The girl looked stunned beyond words.

"Uh, yeah… that's my brother."

"You are so lucky." The girl fanned herself. Karin raised an eyebrow at her but nonetheless smiled.

"Yeah, I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have a big brother like Ichigo." Karin smiled.

"You're brother is smoking hot. Tell me, does he have a girlfriend?" Karin stared at her wide-eyed. The girl was straight to the point already.

"Um, not as far as I can tell but"-

"What kind of girl does your brother go far? I have to know." The girl started to giggle.

"I honestly have no idea. I think someone sweet, down to earth, not loud," _Like you, _Karin thought. "And smart." _Someone like Orihime. _

"Oh…well that's no good. I'm a bit of a party girl." Kori pouted. "I need to shake a little on the weekends. Tell me, does he like to dance?"

Just then, Suki came out from behind the curtains with cards in her hands.

"Oh my gosh the results!" Kori squealed. Karin breathed a sigh of relief as Kori never returned to her about her brother. For a moment there she wondered if she was going to get pinned to the floor and interrogated till her brain went flat.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road. First up for Hercules…"

* * *

Hitsugaya glanced at his watch. Parked outside the school entrance, Hitsugaya made a mental note to ask Youruichi where she got the helmet she gave him. He needed an extra. As he waited patiently, he thought back on last night with Karin. It felt so strange, in a sense he had never felt…so carefree before, not with anyone even in his family. It was always worry, worry and study.

But last night was completely different from his norm. All Karin and he talked about were sports, comic books and computer games. Nothing awkward happen, no weird silence floated between them, they always had something to talk about, be it agreeing or disagreeing, or debating. It was like as if they had been best friends for life, which came as a surprise to him. Back in the big city, he usually kept to himself. In fact, he never hung out with anyone unless it was for group projects. Bottom line was he never had friends, just classmates, until now.

What came as an even bigger surprise was that he found himself enjoying every moment of his time with Karin, just two of them sitting at the counter with hot drinks in mugs. When it came to an end at two-thirty in the morning, he found himself so reluctant to leave. He wanted to stay on and chat more but when he saw her yawn, he knew he had to let her sleep. He wanted her to rest.

That bugged him.

Just then, the school entrance door swung open. An irritated Karin emerged from the school and noticed him. Immediately he noticed her face light up. He smiled inwardly.

"Hey there stranger." Karin smiled. She walked down the steps and noticed Hitsugaya's new mode of transport.

"So this is what you went to get. What about the moped?" Karin asked.

"Returning it to my cousin. It actually belongs to her." Hitsugaya said.

"No wonder you were in such a rush to leave. Your bike is a beauty." Karin rounded the bike and checked it out.

"I love the metallic dark blue. It's majestic." Karin commented. "It looks a lot like a blue ninja."

"The designs are from it." Hitsugaya shrugged. Karin looked at him and smiled.

"So I guess I can ask for a ride?" She raised her shoulder for a second and looked to the sky with a little hope. Hitsugaya smirked back.

"If you really want to, hop on." He picked his helmet up from the seat and raised it in front of her. Karin was a little surprised at his offer. She was about to say yes when she noticed that he did not have another helmet with him.

"Really? Isn't riding without a helmet illegal?" Karin asked.

"I didn't pin you for the kind of girl that would care about that…" Hitsugaya sounded surprised and a little disappointed.

Karin smiled. _He looks so cute when he looks like that. _Karin quickly slapped herself mentally. She took a step forward and took the helmet from Hitsugaya, surprising him again.

"Okay, and don't go slower than usual just because I am riding with you…deal?" Karin said firmly.

"Just drive safe." She added. "I hate to have anything happen to you."

Hitsugaya rubbed his neck and gave a dry chuckle. "Deal, just as long as this stays between us. Your brother would kill me if he found out that you were riding with me without me wearing a helmet on."

"Okay, I'll keep my mouth shut if you take me somewhere for dinner. How's that?" Karin placed the helmet above her head.

"Aren't I offering you a ride already?" Hitsugaya grinned. She was such a negotiator.

"Yeah but let's face it, you came back to get me without having asking me before hand. You wanted me to ride with you and you knew I would not turn it down. So how about we be merry and have a good dinner." Karin strapped the clip securely under her chin and tightened the straps of her backpack around her shoulders.

"Besides, I need to start seeing a bit more of Northern town than just school." Karin smiled.

Hitsugaya opened his mouth but she already said what he could possibly think off. He smiled and nodded his head toward his bike.

"Where's your bag?" Karin asked as he got on.

"I dropped it off at the apartment on my way here."

Karin smiled. Thank goodness the helmet partially hid her pinkish cheeks. He went back to put his bag down for her or else how would she hold onto him?

Hitsugaya started his bike and Karin basked in the mighty growl of the bike. She got on the bike and gingerly placed her arms around Hitsugaya's waist. She was mentally melting in her head just feeling the soft black cotton of his shirt at the tips of her fingers.

"Ready?"

"Yup." Karin smiled.

Soon Karin found themselves on the road passing shop houses. He drove at the right speed and thankfully he was a safe driver. She never once felt afraid, in fact, she felt very safe. Maybe it was the hugging talking, Karin thought. She did feel a little giddy just being so close to him. Memories of him grabbing onto her in Ichigo's car flashed through her mind. He hugged her out of protection. Now she was hugging onto him for a ride.

"Are you alright?" Hitsugaya came to a stop at the traffic light.

"Very." Karin nodded. "So where are you taking me?"

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't know where it is."

"Fair enough."

The red light changed to green and they took off. As they got onto the overhead bridge, Karin looked to the side and her eyes swept the tall buildings in the distance.

"This is awesome!" Karin exclaimed.

Hitsugaya remained concentrated on the road but inside, his heart floated. Yes, he admitted, he was happy. He had Karin and it felt like a day off from life just being with her.

Suddenly, he felt her body pressed against his back and his helmet resting gently on his shoulder. Her hold on him tightened a little but not to the point it was uncomfortable. He titled his head just an inch to the side and smiled. He could feel her fingers indulging in the soft cotton of his shirt. Whether she was doing it on purpose or unconsciously, he hoped she would not stop.

He liked it. And he liked her.

* * *

Ichigo dapped the gauze soaked in disinfectant liquid on Orihime's scratches. Her foot flinched and her head her hiss in pain. She retracted her foot but he held her ankle firmly and gently.

"I'm almost done." He chuckled.

Orihime had her hands plastered to her face. When they had taken a closer look, the scratches were pretty bad. She knew she was never going to sit at that tree stump again. She hissed once more as the gauze made contact with her scratches.

"And you're done." Ichigo placed the gauze back on the a tissue laid out in front of him on the coffee table. He reached into the first aid kit tool box and took out a large square padded plaster.

"It's waterproof so you can bathe with it on. Before you go to bed, I suggest you let it air so your scratches can dry up." Ichigo recommended and placed the plaster on. He padded it down gently and smoothed it out. Orihime breathed a sigh of relief and wiggled her toes.

"Feels comfy." Orihime giggled.

"You come well prepared." She smiled.

"Having a father as a doctor rubs a little off you." Ichigo patted her ankle lightly. Orihime blushed as she realized at what position she was and where her foot rested on.

"Thanks." She smiled.

Ichigo returned a smile. Then she noticed his face expression changed a little. Now he looked like he was contemplating on something. He looked back at her.

"Hey…are you doing anything this weekend?" Ichigo asked, a little afraid of her rejection.

"Nope, I have nothing planned. Why?" Orihime cocked her head to the side. Was it another outing with the guys and girls?

Ichigo looked away, he wondered if it was a good idea. He just hurt her and now he was asking her out on a date? Was it safe or risky? But it was now or never.

"Well, I was wondering if you want to go out…for the day?"

At first, Orihime thought it was just another outing but the way he asked, the way he looked afraid to ask, she knew it was something else.

"Oh…" She dropped her gaze. Her heart thundered.

"As…as like a date?" She looked back up at him. Panic flashed in his eyes.

"Yeah, I mean…yes…well if you don't want to, please don't feel obligated. I just…I like you and I thought maybe we can get to know each other better…but really, no push, I mean," Ichigo groaned at himself. He was ranting now, like a babbling fool.

"Ichigo."

"And you're a really cool person, and"-

"Ichigo." Orihime said a little louder. He stopped and looked at her, now fear on his face, fear of rejection. She giggled.

"I love to." Orihime smiled. She waited for his reply.

"Really?" Ichigo asked before he felt like slapping himself for asking.

"Yes, really." She watched his body relax and relief washed over his eyes. He broke into a smile. She glanced down at her toes and wiggled them. Ichigo glanced down and laughed.

"Sorry I'm such an idiot." Orihime laughed at her toes.

"It's okay, we're all idiots sometimes. Besides, you got nice toes." He smiled.

* * *

Jacqueline grumbled as she searched her handbag for her car keys. It was not the best of days for her. She glanced down at her white designer's shirt stained with strawberry milkshake and her leather boots destroyed with deep scratch marks. She came to a conclusion that school was not safe for these delicates. During class a student tripped over a bag, on his way out to dump his half filled cup of strawberry milkshake, and spilled the milkshake all over her shirt. Then on her way to the bathroom to try and salvage her already gone top, the janitor came out of no where and rolled the trolley of cleaning supplies on her foot. Her toe still ached and she still hobbled. What a brilliant day for the second day at school, Jacqueline thought.

Her patience was wearing thin as she opened the pockets of her bag. "Where are my car keys damn it!" Jacqueline growled.

"Looking for this?"

Jacqueline looked up, ready to snap at the man sounding so smug. But as soon as she recognized the face, her anger dissipated at once. She did not know whether to laugh or sigh or smile or whatever.

"I found it outside the teacher's lounge. Saw your name tag on it." Skye approached her, noticing how flushed her face was before lowering his gaze to the stain on her shirt.

"Bad day?" He asked.

Jacqueline sighed as Skye lowered the keys into the palm of her hands.

"You have no idea. These two are one of my favourite clothes and they're good as gone." Jacqueline grumbled and leaned against her car.

"I'm just…these were gifts from a friend of mine." Jacqueline lied out of fear she would sound like a rich brat. Well she was rich, but she was not a brat.

"I'm sorry to hear that. That's why I never wear my favourite clothes to school; I learned it the hard way." Skype chuckled.

"I got mine ruined by a student and a janitor."

"I got mine ruined from acid."

Jacqueline cringed. "That must have hurt."

"Yeah, my wallet almost committed suicide." Skype laughed. "Where are you headed?"

"Back to my place to change. Then maybe head out to grab something to eat. Do you know any good place to eat Chinese? I have a craving for dumplings." Jacqueline smiled.

"Yeah I know a good place but…how well do you know Northern Town?" Skye came a little closer. Jacqueline felt like grabbing her heart and tying it down to a rock.

"Um…good question." Jacqueline suddenly felt embarrassed, to the point she felt like driving off to hide her face. She had no idea how to get around and her GPS was not working. Another lesson learned for procrastination.

"Tell you what, I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

Jacqueline looked up, a little lost for words.

"What, like a date?" Jacqueline forced a laugh that she perfected over the years to sound real.

During parties, egoistic people expect you to laugh at their obnoxious jokes. It disgusted her but otherwise, it was business as usual. But this was different. She was hoping it was a date and at the same time, hoping it was not. Why? She was already having a hard time tying her heart down and now he's offering to dine with her for dinner?

"If you want it to see it that way." Skye laughed with her. Her heart sunk so fast. I'm such an idiot, Jacqueline thought.

"No, no, I'm sure you have plans tonight. I'll most probably just order home delivery."

"You're not getting dumplings?"

"I think when I am more familiar with Northern Town I'll get around." Jacqueline faked a smile.

Skye noticed her change of expression. She looked disappointed and she was going to sacrifice her dumplings for pizza.

"Hey…was it something I said?" Skye dropped his smile and came closer as she opened her car door. Jacqueline quickly slid inside, retreating to the protecting of her car.

"What? No, no, no, I'm just a little tired from today. I'll see you around Skye. Thanks for finding my car keys." She started the car and drove off, waving goodbye at Skye left at the car park.

"You're a real idiot Diaz." She scolded herself as she turned around a corner.

* * *

Hitsugaya came to a stop. Karin looked around and noticed how secluded and unique this area was. Her eyes swept over a small little outdoorsy restaurant sitting in the middle of the bare hilltop. It was not much of a chic or classy looking place but the Christmas lights around the trees, the small water fountain in the middle of the premise and the beautiful scenery over viewing the town was breathtaking. There were about twenty small tables all around with a few people already having their dinner. She glanced at her watch. It was coming to six thirty.

"Where are we?" She asked Hitsugaya as he turned off his bike engine.

"Dig Hill Pub and Dine on Vizo Hill." Hitsugaya answered. He waited for Karin to get off first before he alighted his bike.

Karin unclipped the latch and took off the helmet. She handed it to Hitsugaya and adjusted her jacket. There were people already dining at the tables.

"How did you find out about this place? It's so secluded..." Karin turned to Hitsugaya.

"Exploration and Urahara." Hitsugaya guided her towards the restaurant.

"So I'm guessing not a lot of people come here?" Karin could already smell the aroma of cooked food.

"They have enough customers to keep them afloat and happy."

They rounded the restaurant and took a seat at a table at the end where they had a clearer over view of the town and sky. The tables and chairs were wood made giving a natural feel of the place. In front of them were menus placed at the side. Karin reached for the menu and immediately her mouth watered at the dishes before her.

"Tacos…god I haven't had Mexican food for almost half a year? It's so hard to find good Mexican places in Karakura." Karin licked her lips. Hitsugaya let out a chuckle and put his menu down.

"I know what I'm getting. What about you?" Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair.

"Beef Taco…I need to have that first." Karin clasped her hands together and rubbed her palms quickly. Hitsugaya called for the waiter over.

A man with blonde hair, dress in dark brown pants, orange dress shirt and black tie came over. His face took on a surprise as the sight of Karin with Hitsugaya.

"Karin, this is Hirako Shinji, he is the co-owner of this place." Hitsugaya introduced.

"Nice to see you again Hitsugaya-san. We missed you and now you present us a beautiful lady. You didn't have to for me." Shinji revealed his pearly whites in a smile. He turned to Karin and gave a theatric bow with a grin.

"At your service ma'am." Shinji grinned. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and Karin giggled with a blush.

"The usual I presume." Shinji turned to Hitsugaya.

"And she'll have a beef taco supreme." Hitsugaya nodded.

"Right away," Shinji winked at Karin and turned around.

"Oi! Is the problem fixed yet?" Shinji exclaimed.

"I said give me a moment asshole!" A girl popped up from behind the bar. She was dressed in a dark pink jumper, her hair in pigtails and her freckles prominent on her cheeks.

"They're also a little loud." Hitsugaya rubbed his temple. Karin leaned forward.

"I like it here. It's got a personal feel to it." Karin smiled softly. Just then a hand interrupts them. Shinji smirked and placed a candleholder in between them with a lit tea candle floating in the middle. As quickly as he came, he left them alone. Karin swallowed lightly at the candle between them.

"It'll be funny if they had people come here to play violins and we were eating spaghetti." Karin joked.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at her, his hands clasped, fingers interlaced and rest on his stomach.

"Lady and the tramp. It's one of my favourite Disney movies." Karin placed her elbow on the table and rest her eyes on Hitsugaya's teal ones.

"What's yours?" Karin asked.

"You're seriously expecting an answer from a guy?" Hitsugaya smirked.

"Ichigo has one."

"Fair enough."

"So?"

"I don't have one."

Karin pouted a little and turned to her left. The aroma of food being cooked made her stomach growl.

"God it smells so good." Karin inhaled deeply.

"So what is your other favourite disney movie?" Hitsugaya turned the question.

"Aristocats." Karin chirped.

"You sure like animal movies." Hitsugaya smirked.

"They know how to bust a move." Karin chuckled.

"Hiyori…What's taking so damn long?" Shinji leaned over the counter. Out of nowhere a flip-flop flew out and smacked him in the face.

"It's done." Hiyori dusted her jumper. She turned up the volume and music came out through the speakers.

"Baka!" Shinji yelled back. Behind him, a tall, tanned and busty woman came up dressed in a pair of black sports pants and light blue tank top, her blonde hair spike up and her green lagoon eyes gazed at the two. She sighed.

"You should try to be a little less violent. You'll scare the customers." Harribel said coolly.

"Yeah Hiyori, be a little less fucking violent." Shinji rubbed the bridge of his nose before a plastic tray landed hard on his head.

"And you be a little less vulgar." Harribel added before removing the tray and placing it on the bar top. She turned around and noticed Hitsugaya sitting far out with another girl opposite him.

"Who's that?"

"Karin? A new student at his school." Shinji seethed while he rubbed his head.

"That's interesting." Harribel noted.

"If you ask me, she and him wouldn't work." Hiyori scoffed.

"Do I sense jealousy?" Shinji jeered. Hiyori shot Shinji a glare.

"Shut up fool. I meant that this is all puppy love. It always starts out as puppy love."

"What makes you say that?" Shinji also turned his attention to the two outside.

"It's obvious he likes her because this is the first time we see him bring a guest, especially a girl. It's all right there. That guy is going to either break her heart or she breaks his heart."

"You're such a pessimist…" Shinji gave Hiyori a deadpan look.

"And you're the optomist? Look where that got you Mr. sunshine. What happened to your last three dates?" Hiyori shot back.

"At least I have a love life. Where's yours?" Shinji taunted back.

Harribel sighed at the two squabbling behind her. But it had struck her as a surprise that Hitsugaya brought a companion over. He never brought a guest. The only people that came with him before were his family. She watched on as Karin placed a smile Hitsugaya's face. That was news to her.

She never saw him smile until now.

Through their meal, Karin kept him entranced. This year was starting to feel like a first time for everything. First time he hugged a girl, other than his family, or a girl hugged him. First time he took a girl for dinner and first time he was tempted to just experience his first kiss. Of course that experience would have to wait and he would have to get her permission before anything could happen. While all this felt wonderful to him, it also felt frustrating. What was the right move? Were there proper protocols? What are the signs? What were the things to say? Was there a manual for all this? He was just going the flow, acting upon second-guessing, trusting his instincts…not all of it. He was a male after all. Women were meticulous…that's what Matsumoto taught him. One move, and any girl can take it the wrong way.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Hitsugaya blinked. Karin was in front of him holding her taco, looking at him perplexed with a shade of light pink on her cheeks.

"Sorry, I must be tired." Hitsugaya quickly turned to his left, and looked at the sky.

* * *

Jacqueline grumbled again. She had just gotten off the phone with the pizza guy and due to overwhelming orders she had to wait for one and a half hour till her order arrived. Dressed in grey slacks and soft pink tank top, Jacqueline wandered over to her fridge and looked in. She reached in for a can of coke and lifted the tab. She leaned against the kitchen table and thought back when she was at the car park. She pressed the rim of the can against her forehead and frowned.

Cute guy and she most probably scared him…and he wasn't the least attracted to her…since he said, "if you want to see it that way."

What was wrong…why was she unlucky with guys? All her dates failed to meet her expectations and here comes a guy who she has dropped all expectations for and she ruined a chance with him just like that. She heard a small grunt behind her. She turned to see Duke, her German Sheppard puppy, looking at her with his tongue hanging on the side of his mouth.

"Hey buddy," Jacqueline placed her can down and rounded the counter. She scooped the puppy up in her arms and placed a kiss behind it's ear. Jacqueline bounced the puppy up and down gently in her arms. The puppy responded by turning around to lick her face.

"Yes, mummy knows you love her. Thank you buddy," Jacqueline rest her cheek on Duke's head and went over to her couch. Suddenly her doorbell rang. Jacqueline placed Duke on the couch and stared at the door. That could not be her pizza.

She approached the door and looked through the peephole. Surprise took hold of her face. She quickly unlatched her door, unlocked her lock and opened the door.

"Skye?" Jacqueline was surprised. There he was standing outside her door with a plastic bag in her hand.

"Hey." He smiled awkwardly.

"What are you doing here? How'd you know where I live?" Jacqueline asked, a little shocked.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but have looked at your home address on the tag of your car keys." He rubbed the back of his neck. Jacqueline blushed. She always made it a point to have her current lodging address on her tag just in case she misplaced her keys.

"And well, since you had to sacrifice your trip for dumplings, I thought I do you the favour by bringing them to you." He lifted the large bag holding containers up in front of her and the fragrance of the dumplings drifted towards Jacqueline.

Like helium being pumped into a balloon, her heart start to float again. He went all the way to get her dumplings and came all the way to her place.

"I already ordered pizza." Jacqueline chuckled.

"We can have dumplings and pizza." Skye grinned. Jacqueline dipped her head and tucked her brown hair behind her ear. She stood aside, allowing entrance into her apartment.

"Alright, dumplings and pizza it is." Jacqueline smiled. Skye entered the apartment and she closed the door behind them.

Maybe the day was not so bad after all.

* * *

**Sorry for the long update wait. Hope you guys enjoyed it! :D Please review cause I love to hear your thoughts. :}**

**And whoo my mid term exams are over! Now...for the final...I'm in uni now so please bear with me *begs***


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